Recently, I asked a team questions about how they felt they were doing and how often they got feedback.
One team member said, “I think I’m doing well… but I don’t know for sure.”
I asked about the last time they got structured feedback or an evaluation of some kind from their boss.
They said they’d never had that in the many years they’d been working with this person.
They only got feedback when something went wrong, or when something went exceptionally well.
Nothing in between.
And this is more common than most founders realize.
You know how you feel about your team, but they have no clue.
Without a process for sharing consistent feedback, the team stays in the dark. That uncertainty leads to unnecessary anxiety, stalled growth, and sometimes team members who leave.
Start with feedback moments
If you want to stop being the bottleneck and give yourself more freedom, you have to start building a rhythm of feedback. We can start with what I call feedback moments, where you share both positive and coaching feedback in the moment or as close to the moment as possible. Here are some examples:
- After they lead a meeting, send a short note that says something like: “You led that well! Everyone appreciated your agenda. Next time, be sure you pause after you ask for feedback to let them have space to speak up. Trying saying, ‘I’ll pause there. What questions or comments do you have?’”
- After they send an email to client, send a message like: “That was a great summary! The client was really pleased with the update and progress. You’re running this project really well.”
- During a 1:1 with you, you observe that they seem nervous bringing up a concern, so stop and say: “You seem a little nervous about this. Let me reassure you that I agree with your concerns and appreciate you bringing it to my attention. What else is on your mind?”
These moments can become crucial tools for them, improving the quality of their work, increasing their confidence, and allowing you to step back even more.
3 meetings to encourage feedback
We also want to create formal structure to encourage a culture of feedback. Here are three meeting types you can implement to give structure to you and your team so feedback becomes a part of your culture.
1. 1:1s that center on the team member, not the manager
If you’re not holding regular 1:1s, meaning meetings with just you and one individual, start there. I generally recommend weekly 30 minute 1:1s, but you can also do every other week.
These meetings aren’t designed for status updates, but instead are your chance to coach, clear roadblocks, and stay connected to how your team is really doing.
Make it clear to your team member that these meetings are for them and that they set the agenda. Here are some standard questions you can ask them to help invite them to share:
- What’s going well?
- Where are you feeling stuck?
- What do you need from me?
I also love to ask, “Where am I blocker for you?”
When my clients start doing 1:1s, they continually tell me how surprised they are at what they learn in these meetings. Not only do they provide insight for you, but you’ll create a safe space for growth, feedback, and momentum for your team member. And that creates a foundation for loyalty, collaboration, and trust.
2. Quarterly momentum check-ins
Every quarter, step back and zoom out with quarterly momentum check-ins. These check-ins are my twist on corporate performance reviews. They aren’t designed to grade someone and punish. They are used to celebrate progress, identify areas for improvement, and create alignment.
Give your team member ownership to write up their own review and share it with you in advance. Encourage them to own up to where they can improve and then have a conversation about how you can support them.
Since you’ve built trust in your 1:1s and feedback moments, this will be much easier for them to evaluate their progress honestly.
Don’t share your feedback ahead of time, but share it live. What you say as the boss carries weight, so it’s better to share it live where you can control your tone and delivery.
The standard questions they should walk through and you should ask are:
- What’s working?
- What’s not?
- What needs to shift moving forward?
This rhythm of continual check-ins on progress and growth helps your team feel seen and supported. And it gives you the chance to recalibrate together before small misalignments turn into bigger problems.
3. Retrospectives
Retrospectives are meetings that you hold after a project, event, or launch. They are a key place for everyone to share feedback, gather learnings, and make improvements for the next round.
You can use the same questions as momentum check-ins:
- What’s working?
- What’s not?
- What needs to shift moving forward?
Appoint one person to lead the retrospective. They should:
- Create a document for feedback and share it out with all relevant stakeholders
- Ensure stakeholders add their own feedback and comments to the document
- Lead the meeting covering the core points of feedback and encouraging discussion
- Take notes on comments and decisions made
You’ll capture important feedback and ensure your team embraces constant feedback cycles and iteration. It will continually improving your products, services, and overall company output. Not to mention, your team will feel listened to and appreciated for sharing their perspectives.
Action
Want to actually apply what you just learned? Here are some things you can do that will take you less than 30 minutes to set up. They will improve team clarity, morale, and ownership within a few weeks.
- Feedback moments: This week, share at least 1 piece of feedback with each team member. It doesn’t have to be critical, positive feedback is great!
- 1:1s: Schedule recurring 1:1s with each team member and share directions on how they should run them
- Quarterly momentum check-ins: Schedule quarterly momentum check-ins now for 2–3 months out. In the invite, include instructions sharing the 3-questions and a reminder to send reflections a week before.
- Retrospective: Pick one current project and ask a team member to lead a 30 minute retrospective. Include instructions sharing the 3-questions and information on collecting feedback.
