Advice for new leaders on giving feedback
It’s often difficult for a leader stepping into a new role. You’re the boss, but you’re also the newbie, simultaneously the authority figure and the one who needs to ask directions for the bathroom. The impulse to prove one’s worth early on often collides with the uncomfortable truth that credibility has yet to be earned. Whether you are a freshly minted manager or a seasoned executive walking into a new organisation, giving feedback too soon (or too tentatively) can damage trust before it takes root. Yet delaying these conversations risks allowing underperformance to calcify into culture. Navigating this tension is one of the most critical challenges that new leaders face.
Marissa Fernandez, a former C-suite executive turned executive coach, has seen this tightrope act up close. As she observes in Harvard Business Review, “Moving too fast can lead to missteps, while waiting too long risks inaction and meaningful opportunities lost” [1]. The art lies in giving feedback that is timely but also informed by real understanding of the people, systems and politics you have inherited.
This is less about technique than mindset. Too many leaders see feedback as a transaction, just one more task on a checklist of performance management. But effective feedback is a relationship. It demands curiosity, humility and the discipline to set aside your ego so you can serve the team’s growth rather than your own need for validation.
The good news is that while every organisation is unique, the principles underpinning effective feedback are remarkably consistent. Drawing on research and the experiences of leaders across industries, four strategies stand out. New learners should assess the landscape, fast-track trust, understand their team’s aspirations, and set aside their ego. Each one helps transform feedback from a threat into a catalyst for growth.
Assess the landscape
Early in a new role, it is tempting to hunt for “quick wins.” For Barry, a divisional CFO Fernandez coached, this impulse had been a career-long pattern. He would act fast in order to establish credibility. But as he later admitted, that same urgency had often bred resistance and strained relationships [2].
The temptation to jump in is understandable. Leaders are hired to deliver results, and results rarely come from standing still. Yet if you begin issuing feedback based solely on your first impressions, you risk acting on incomplete or distorted information. The solution is to slow down just long enough to build context.
Michael Watkins, author of The First 90 Days, suggests that new leaders develop a structured learning plan across four domains: technical, interpersonal, cultural and political [3]. This framework goes beyond the obvious (“What do our KPIs say?”) and forces you to consider subtler dynamics such as who really holds influence? What unspoken norms shape behaviour? Which past experiences have made the team cautious or cynical?
For Barry, this approach proved transformative. When he observed that his head of accounting, Luis, lacked the strategic capabilities the role required, his first instinct was to act immediately. But he resisted. Instead, he spent weeks gathering perspective. He observed meetings, spoke with Luis’s peers, learned about Luis’s 17-year tenure and the trust he commanded [4]. With this deeper understanding, Barry reframed his feedback. Rather than a blunt indictment of Luis’s shortcomings, it became a conversation about transitioning into a role that played to Luis’s strengths while serving the business’s evolving needs.
This measured approach underscores the broader truth that effective feedback depends on situational awareness. When you have triangulated observations and heard the same themes from multiple voices, your insights are more likely to be accurate and your feedback more likely to be accepted.
Model vulnerability
“To ensure your feedback is not just heard but acted upon, you need to build a foundation of trust,” Fernandez writes [5]. Even when your feedback is grounded in data and observation, it will fall flat without trust. Yet trust, by definition, takes time to develop.
Exceptional leaders understand that while time helps, deliberate action accelerates the process. In The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, Patrick Lencioni argues that vulnerability is a core building block of trust [6]. Leaders who model openness create psychological safety, helping develop the sense that it is safe to take risks, admit mistakes and be imperfect.
One powerful way to do this is to share the “dark side” of your strengths. For example, if decisiveness is your hallmark, acknowledge that it can sometimes come across as impatience. If collaboration is your preference, admit that it can slow decision-making. By openly naming these tensions, you invite your team to do the same and signal that candid self-reflection is valued.
In one case Fernandez describes, a newly restructured leadership team held a facilitated session in which every member shared not only their top strengths but also the unintended consequences of overusing them [7]. Because everyone participated, the exercise felt less like a confessional and more like an honest calibration. The result was a foundation of faster trust and an environment primed for constructive feedback.
Understand what drives your people
Feedback is both easier to receive and more likely to inspire change when it connects to what matters most to the recipient. In other words, the best feedback is not just about correcting performance gaps but enabling aspirations.
When Divya, another of Fernandez’s clients, stepped into the role of head of global sales, she scheduled one-on-one meetings with every team member to understand their ambitions and their best working experiences [8]. These conversations built rapport, but more than that they created a roadmap for future coaching.
A few weeks later, Divya noticed that Maria, a high-performing regional sales leader, often dominated discussions, inadvertently stifling other voices. Instead of framing the feedback purely as a problem, Divya anchored it in Maria’s own goals: “Leading on a larger stage will mean fostering collaboration and creating space for others’ ideas to shine. Let’s work on strategies to build that skill now” [9].
Maria took the message to heart. Over time, she shifted her approach in meetings, drawing out quieter team members and asking more questions before offering her perspective. By aligning feedback with Maria’s aspirations, Divya transformed what could have been a defensive exchange into an empowering conversation that ultimately aided both. Finding the motivation of your team can be key to this. Maria wanted to be great at her job and thought showing her strengths was the way to go about that. Divya’s feedback helped her see that the best way to achieve her goal was actually to cede the spotlight from time to time. When feedback is positioned as a pathway to achieve personal ambitions, it feels less like criticism and more like investment. Aligning your wants with the wants of your team goes a long way.
Set aside your ego
Perhaps the most insidious obstacle to effective feedback is ego. New leaders are especially prone to letting it intrude. In the rush to prove they were the right hire, they either swing toward overassertiveness, such as by using blunt feedback to project authority, or swing the other way toward excessive caution, avoiding difficult conversations altogether.
Neither extreme works. “Exceptional leaders understand that you can be clear and direct while showing care and respect — it’s not an either/or choice,” Fernandez writes [10].
Michael, a newly promoted director at a tech startup, faced this very dilemma. When a senior engineer repeatedly missed deadlines, Michael felt he had to intervene. But he also worried about alienating a key contributor. In their one-on-one, he began by acknowledging her expertise and past successes. Then he stated the facts simply: “I’ve noticed the missed deadlines on your recent deliverables. I know you’re committed to this product, and I want to make sure you have what you need to get back on track” [11].
This combination of directness and empathy created space for dialogue rather than defensiveness. The engineer explained that a new process was slowing her down, and together they restructured her responsibilities.
Such conversations require intention. Most leaders lean naturally toward either empathy or assertiveness. The discipline lies in preparing so you can dial up the side that does not come as easily. Over time, this balance creates a culture where feedback is not feared but welcomed as part of continuous improvement.
Useful feedback maxims
Beyond these broad strategies, a series of practical maxims can help ensure your feedback lands effectively. When gathered to give their opinions on what made for effective feedback, the Forbes Coaches Council, a panel of seasoned experts, offered guidance that underscores both the clarity and humanity required in the process [12].
One of the most enduring principles the panel agreed upon was avoiding the “feedback sandwich.” While it may feel gentler to embed criticism between two positive statements, Sheri Nasim of the Center for Executive Excellence argues this practice “lacks clarity, causes confusion and can make your direct reports feel you are disingenuous” [13]. Better to be clear and direct, framed with intention and respect.
David Limiero of Edens View Coaching and Consulting suggests reimagining the very concept of feedback as “feedforward.” Because the past is immutable, focusing on what could be different next time empowers employees rather than demoralising them [14]. This forward-looking mindset shifts the tone from judgment to possibility.
Clarity is also paramount. Lynda Silsbee of the Alliance for Leadership Acceleration observes that “ambiguous feedback leaves employees guessing, while clear, direct and constructive input helps them grow” [15]. When feedback is too vague, it becomes an exercise in frustration. Specific examples, paired with clear expectations, remove this uncertainty.
Finally, adapt your delivery to the individual. Barbara Zuleger of Performance Partners Coaching reminds us that “feedback isn’t one-size-fits-all” [16]. Some people thrive on direct input while others need time to process. Flexing your approach does not mean softening your standards. Rather, it means meeting people where they are so they can engage constructively.
Receiving feedback
Of course, giving feedback is only half the story. Being a leader also means receiving it, sometimes in ways that sting. Writing in Forbes, Dede Henley, CEO of Henley Leadership Group, reflects on handling critical feedback and offers three core pieces of guidance [17].
First, look for the “kernel of truth.” Even poorly delivered criticism usually contains some valuable insight. Even if you disagree with the criticism itself, look for the note behind the note. Your team won’t always know how to perfectly express what it is that’s grinding them. Good leaders can see through the superficial complaint to the underlying issue beneath.
Second, pause. When someone says something provocative, take ten breaths and, if necessary, ask to sleep on it before responding. As Henley puts it, this pause “gets the thinking brain, the neo-cortex, back online” [18]. Receiving criticism can be hard, no matter how constructive its insight or well-intentioned its aims. Don’t allow your pride or sensitivity to respond for you.
Third, mirror back what you have heard. Paraphrase the feedback to demonstrate you have truly understood, then ask if there is more. This practice diffuses tension and shows you are committed to learning rather than defending. It also ensures you’re not adopting the wrong actionables nor internally raging against a self-constructed strawman.
Leaders who embrace this mindset and understand that feedback is not an attack but a gift model the very openness they hope to cultivate in their teams.
Feedback is the bedrock
Feedback given well is neither a performance nor a manipulation. It is a genuine commitment to help others grow. When you are new in a role, this commitment is tested most acutely. You are learning the landscape, building trust, discerning aspirations and managing your own insecurities, all while being watched for signals of who you will be as a leader.
But these early moments, handled thoughtfully, can become your leadership foundation. They set the tone for a culture defined not by blame or fear but by candour, trust and mutual success. And in that culture, everyone, including you, has permission to keep growing.
Sources
[1] https://hbr.org/2025/07/4-strategies-to-help-new-leaders-give-feedback
[2] https://hbr.org/2025/07/4-strategies-to-help-new-leaders-give-feedback
[3] https://hbr.org/2025/07/4-strategies-to-help-new-leaders-give-feedback
[4] https://hbr.org/2025/07/4-strategies-to-help-new-leaders-give-feedback
[5] https://hbr.org/2025/07/4-strategies-to-help-new-leaders-give-feedback
[6] https://hbr.org/2025/07/4-strategies-to-help-new-leaders-give-feedback
[7] https://hbr.org/2025/07/4-strategies-to-help-new-leaders-give-feedback
[8] https://hbr.org/2025/07/4-strategies-to-help-new-leaders-give-feedback
[9] https://hbr.org/2025/07/4-strategies-to-help-new-leaders-give-feedback
[10] https://hbr.org/2025/07/4-strategies-to-help-new-leaders-give-feedback
[11] https://hbr.org/2025/07/4-strategies-to-help-new-leaders-give-feedback
[17] https://www.forbes.com/sites/dedehenley/2023/12/24/handling-feedback-with-a-cool-head
[18] https://www.forbes.com/sites/dedehenley/2023/12/24/handling-feedback-with-a-cool-head
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