The Art of Feedback: Giving and Receiving from a Growth Mindset
Feedback is a powerful yet often misunderstood tool for personal and professional growth. It’s the bridge between intention and impact, offering insights that can fuel improvement, foster stronger relationships, and build a foundation of trust. However, our perceptions and experiences with feedback can shape how we approach it.
For some, feedback can be difficult to receive because it’s viewed as highlighting imperfections, doing something subpar, or not being good enough. Learning to accept feedback with a growth mindset and recognizing it as a reflection of someone caring about your development is essential.
Similarly, learning how to deliver tactful feedback with the intention of fostering growth ensures it is well-received and impactful. Whether at work, home, or within the realm of personal development, mastering the art of giving and receiving feedback is essential for anyone seeking to thrive in a high-pressure, high-achievement world.
Why Feedback Matters
At its core, feedback is a means of communication that aligns our actions with desired outcomes. It provides clarity, fosters accountability, and helps us see blind spots. For high achievers juggling chronic stress and burnout, feedback can serve as both a mirror and a compass, guiding them toward meaningful improvements while validating their efforts.
The importance of feedback lies in its dual ability to:
Drive Growth: Constructive feedback challenges individuals to refine their skills, habits, and perspectives, unlocking new levels of performance.
Strengthen Relationships: Thoughtfully delivered feedback demonstrates care, respect, and investment in another’s development, building trust and mutual understanding.
Encourage Self-Awareness: Receiving feedback helps individuals recognize their impact on others, fostering emotional intelligence and personal accountability.
Why Feedback Can Be Difficult to Receive
For some individuals, receiving feedback can feel daunting or even threatening. Several factors contribute to this discomfort:
Perfectionism: Perfectionists often equate feedback with failure, believing it highlights flaws in their performance or character.
Fear of Being Wrong or Bad: Many people associate feedback with being criticized or “in trouble,” which can trigger feelings of inadequacy or shame.
Past Trauma: Those with past experiences of harsh criticism, judgment, or punitive feedback may have emotional triggers that make receiving feedback challenging.
Understanding these barriers is key to creating an environment where feedback feels constructive rather than confrontational. By fostering psychological safety and emphasizing growth over judgment, feedback can become a more approachable and valuable tool.
Why Some People Struggle Giving Feedback
While feedback is a powerful tool, delivering it effectively is not always easy. Some individuals may find it challenging to provide constructive feedback for various reasons:
Overly Critical of Themselves: People who are hard on themselves often project that same level of criticism onto others, leading to overly harsh or excessive feedback.
Jealousy: Personal insecurities or envy can color feedback, making it less about growth and more about undermining the recipient.
Low Emotional Intelligence (EQ): A lack of empathy or awareness can result in feedback that is poorly timed, tactless, or overly blunt.
Focus on Insignificant Details: Some people get caught up in trivial matters, believing their observations are insightful when they may be irrelevant or nitpicky.
Unclear Goals: Without a clear purpose, feedback can feel aimless or unnecessarily critical, failing to inspire growth.
Being mindful of these tendencies and addressing them can help transform feedback into a constructive and meaningful interaction.
Best Practices for Giving Feedback
Giving feedback is an art that requires intention, tact, and empathy. Here are guiding principles to ensure your feedback is both impactful and respectful:
1. Give Feedback from a Place of Love
Approach feedback with genuine care for the recipient’s growth and well-being. Feedback given from a place of love prioritizes the recipient’s best interests and fosters trust.
2. Is it Kind, Truthful, and Necessary?
Kindness: Kindness in feedback is not about sugarcoating but rather approaching conversations with empathy and respect. Sometimes, the kindest act is having a difficult conversation that encourages growth.
Truthfulness: Feedback should be honest and specific. Generalities or half-truths dilute its effectiveness and can create confusion.
Necessity: Feedback should serve a clear purpose. Consider whether it’s genuinely beneficial or if it’s better left unsaid.
3. Start with Glows and Grows
Share two glows (things the person did well) and one grow (an area for improvement). Ensure the grow is aligned with the person’s goals to make feedback constructive and relevant.
4. Ask Before You Give
Start by asking the recipient what they’d like feedback on, their goals, and where they think they excelled or could improve. This ensures your feedback aligns with their self-assessment and aspirations. In some cases, you may need to address a significant grow they haven’t identified, but most of the time, this collaborative approach fosters alignment and trust.
5. Focus on Behavior, Not the Person
Feedback should address specific actions or outcomes rather than personal attributes. For example, instead of saying, “You’re careless,” say, “I noticed errors in the report that could impact the project’s timeline.”
6. Use the SBI Framework
Situation: Describe the context.
Behavior: Highlight the specific actions.
Impact: Explain the effect of those actions.
7. Timing and Delivery
Provide feedback in a timely manner and choose an appropriate setting. Public criticism rarely fosters improvement, whereas private, thoughtful conversations build trust.
8. Examine Your Intentions
Ask yourself, “What’s my goal in giving this feedback?” If the intent is to help the person grow, ensure your tone, inflection, and wording reflect that. Avoid nitpicking or overly critical remarks that serve only to undermine confidence.
Best Practices for Receiving Feedback
Receiving feedback with grace and openness is a skill that can unlock profound personal and professional growth. Here’s how to approach it:
1. Receive Feedback from a Place of Gratitude
Recognize feedback as a gift—an opportunity to grow and learn. Approaching it with gratitude helps shift the focus from discomfort to appreciation for the giver’s effort and perspective.
2. Listen Without Defensiveness
Feedback can be uncomfortable, but defensiveness stifles learning. Approach each conversation with curiosity and a willingness to grow.
3. Ask Questions
Seek clarity by asking for examples or suggestions for improvement. This demonstrates your commitment to understanding and acting on the feedback.
4. Separate Intent from Impact
Even if feedback feels harsh, focus on its potential to help you grow rather than assuming malicious intent.
5. Express Gratitude
Thank the giver for their insights, even if the feedback is challenging to hear. This encourages an open feedback culture.
6. Reflect and Act
Take time to process the feedback, identify actionable steps, and follow through on them. Demonstrating change validates the effort put into providing feedback.
The Tactful Feedback Giver
Not all feedback givers approach the task with the same care. Here’s how to avoid common pitfalls:
Avoid Nitpicking: Feedback should focus on meaningful areas for improvement rather than minor, inconsequential details.
Mind Your Tone and Inflection: Even well-intentioned feedback can be misinterpreted if delivered harshly or sarcastically.
Clarify Your Goal: Are you aiming to help the person grow, or are you venting frustration? Ensure your intentions are constructive.
Balance Critical Feedback with Encouragement: Overly critical feedback without positive reinforcement can demoralize and alienate the recipient.
Feedback in Practice
In Business: Performance Management and Team Collaboration
In the workplace, feedback is the backbone of performance management and project success. For leaders, providing regular, constructive feedback can motivate employees, improve engagement, and drive results. Conversely, employees who seek feedback signal initiative and a commitment to excellence.
Pro Tip: Implement regular check-ins and 360-degree feedback systems to normalize and democratize the feedback process.
At Home: Strengthening Relationships
Feedback isn’t just for the office—it’s equally vital at home. In personal relationships, feedback fosters deeper understanding and prevents resentment from festering. For example, instead of saying, “You never help around the house,” try, “When you don’t pitch in with chores, it makes me feel unsupported.”
In Personal Development: Beating Burnout
For high achievers battling stress and burnout, feedback offers an opportunity to identify unsustainable habits or blind spots. Whether it’s feedback from a coach, a mentor, or even a trusted friend, embracing these insights can lead to more balanced and sustainable success.
Final Thoughts
Feedback is a gift—a tool that, when wielded skillfully, can transform individuals and organizations alike. By approaching feedback with love, kindness, truthfulness, and a clear purpose, we can create environments where growth is not only possible but inevitable.
For high achievers striving to overcome chronic stress and burnout, mastering the art of feedback may be one of the most impactful steps toward a healthier, more fulfilling life.
Article References
The sources cited in the article:
The Smile Project. “Is it True? Is it Necessary? Is it Kind?” The Smile Project - Is it True? Is it Necessary? Is it Kind?
Inc. "T.H.I.N.K. Before Your Speak.” Inc. - T.H.I.N.K. Before You Speak
Harvard Business Review (HBR). “How to Give (and Receive) Critical Feedback .” HBR - How to Give (and Receive) Critical Feedback
Forbes. “The Art of Giving Feedback.” Forbes - The Art of Giving Feedback
Harvard Business Review (HBR) “The Right Way to Process Feedback.” HBR - The Right Way to Process Feedback
CultureAmp. “How to Give Effective Feedback.” CultureAmp - How to Give Effective Feedback
