Feedback & Coaching: Are You Missing the Mark?

You have two powerful levers for developing your people's skills: feedback and coaching. Yet, as our polls on LinkedIn revealed, many employees feel they’re not getting enough of either.

In one poll, we asked: "How much quality feedback do you get from your manager? If you get feedback but it is low quality/unhelpful, consider that as no feedback."

Here’s how people responded:

• 32% receive no feedback at all.
• 46% said they receive too little feedback.
• 21% felt they receive the right amount.
• 0% receive too much feedback.

That means 78% of employees feel they’re not getting enough feedback—a glaring gap that impacts motivation, performance, and growth.

In another poll, we asked: "How much coaching do you get from your manager? That is, listening and asking questions instead of giving answers, advice, or instructions."

Here’s what the votes showed:

• 50% said they receive no coaching at all.
• 25% said they receive too little coaching.
• 25% felt they receive the right amount.
• 0% felt they receive too much coaching.

These results emphasize an essential truth: many leaders lack the coaching skills needed to truly empower their teams.

Experience + Coaching + Feedback = Leadership Growth

Coaching skills are essential for every manager who wants to grow from being a team lead to a director, or for anyone who wants to develop and empower their employees

As a team lead, generally speaking you could provide answers or step in for all the tasks your team needs to do. (not that you'd want to!) The higher you go, the less this is true. You need skills to lead people who have technical skills and experience you do not have. That is where coaching skills come in.

Coaching means instead of providing ideas or advice, you ask the questions that will help your direct report figure out what to do next, and take responsibility for that choice.

Then they need feedback about the choice they made, to keep learning and building confidence.

In this fast-changing, highly competitive world, people need to not only do their job well, but to continuously improve. They say 'practice makes perfect', but I disagree. Practice makes comfortable.

Think about it.

If you have been driving for 20 years, are you any better of a driver today than you were 5 or even 10 years ago? Probably not. How about your handwriting? But you are probably very comfortable behind the wheel and taking notes.

That's why professional athletes have coaches. They do not need feedback to be great, but they do need feedback if they want to get better.

Want to be a better driver? Ask your spouse of children for feedback on your driving. Chances are they will have some ideas for you to improve. :-)

Practice doesn't make perfect. Practice with feedback makes perfect. Well, actually, perfection is an illusion. So let's make it: Practice plus feedback fuels progress.

Coaching and Feedback go hand in hand:

• Coaching uncovers limiting beliefs, taps into resources, and builds confidence.
• Feedback provides information about what to keep or change.

When managers master both, they create a culture where teams thrive and future leaders emerge. These are the leaders who become known for creating the best leaders. As the saying goes: "A leader isn't a leader until they’ve developed another leader."

What about you? How much feedback and coaching do you give your team? Are you fostering a culture of growth and leadership?