Driving Team Success Through Feedback: When The How Matters More Than The What
- Ilja Mitrofanov
- Mar 26
- 6 min read
Updated: Apr 19
Kristina, tell us a bit about yourself, about your journey so far and your current mission!
I’ve built my career around Culture and People Development, working across Berlin, Vilnius, and in remote environments. However, as someone who deeply values continuous learning, my true passion has always been people development. I love discovering new information and sharing insights with others. When I began exploring feedback - its layers, impact, and the struggles companies face - I knew I wanted to tap deeper into this.
Unfortunately, many companies still have challenges around feedback, whether it's about building good habits, improving quality, or both. My goal is to help these companies understand the power of an effective feedback culture and tap into individual and collective potential through candid conversations.
When I work with organisations, I don’t just focus on feedback techniques; I also explore the behaviors and attitudes that might prevent a healthy feedback culture. For instance, is it a lack of skills, or perhaps something deeper like psychological safety that's holding them back?
How come “feedback” - what excites you about this topic?
This topic has so many layers. It involves understanding neuroscience, which greatly influences how we receive feedback, as well as exploring psychology, body language, cultural differences, and more. When we take the time to not only learn common feedback techniques but also understand these deeper aspects, we can significantly improve our interactions and overall quality of life. I’m excited to share these layers, clarify some less-obvious points, and offer practical tools so people can confidently lean into those conversations rather than avoid them.
How do you define “feedback” and what are the most common misconceptions about it?
Feedback is about sharing individual observations and perspectives with someone, helping them reflect on and improve things they might not see on their own. It provides insight into blind spots or alternative ways of approaching situations, helping people (or products) overcome limitations they might not even be aware of.
A major misconception is a perception that feedback is a big, formal task or something you check off a list. Many people think it requires sitting down for hours to write, and occasionally that's necessary - especially when official processes demand detailed reflection over a longer period. But most often, feedback can simply be a couple of sentences added naturally into a catch-up conversation.
Another misconception is that positive feedback or praise is valuable by itself and doesn’t require much attention. While general statements like "you’re an amazing leader" might feel nice at the time, they don’t actually help your brain understand which specific behaviors it should repeat. For positive feedback to be effective, it needs to clearly highlight the behaviors that led to success. Only then will the brain know exactly what to keep on repeating in order to experience the dopamine boost - the pleasure hormone tied to motivation and learning.
Why is feedback so important for the team and individual success?
When feedback is done properly - with genuine care and the intention to help - it accelerates improvement and helps things move forward faster. Feedback given with care builds trust, because people feel, "this person genuinely wants to help me” or "together we aim to create better results”. That kind of trust creates psychological safety, where everyone feels comfortable enough to be vulnerable or make mistakes. They know their environment will step in with honest observations and gently guide them back on track when needed. And that’s where I believe teams’ and individuals’ success come.
Delivering positive feedback is easy, but what about “negative” one - why delivering “the bad news” is so difficult for us?
First, I always encourage people to stop referring to feedback as "negative" and instead call it "corrective" or "developmental." Even if feedback feels uncomfortable in the moment, but it leads to significant professional or personal growth, was it truly negative in the end? Words matter because they shape how our brains respond - whether we approach a situation with fear or curiosity.
Delivering corrective feedback can feel challenging. We worry about hurting someone's feelings or being seen as the "bad guy," even though holding back might leave them unaware and deny them opportunities to grow. Additionally, many of us still lack the skills to provide high-quality feedback or navigate responses. When we don't feel equipped for these conversations, we tend to avoid them more than we should.
Where do you see the biggest pitfalls when sharing the positive/negative feedback?
The common pitfalls for both positive and corrective feedback are essentially the same - they often lack specificity and impact. The language we typically use when giving feedback tends to be vague, making it difficult for the brain to grasp exactly what is being said. We rely too heavily on using adjectives when delivering feedback that don't clearly communicate actionable details.
What are the best ways to avoid these pitfalls?
The best way to avoid vague feedback is to be very specific about the actions and situations you've observed. For example, instead of simply saying, "You did great during the meeting," pause and reflect on exactly what behaviors stood out. Was the person managing the agenda clearly? Did they encourage participation by calling each attendee by name? Those specific behaviors are what we should emphasise when giving feedback.
Additionally, for feedback to truly resonate, it's important to describe the impact of those behaviors. For instance, did their clear agenda management ensure that all topics were covered without anything being missed? Did involving each participant individually help gain everyone's buy-in? Highlighting this type of impact not only reinforces positive behaviours, but also helps the brain understand the meaning behind your feedback.
The impact statement is particularly important for corrective feedback. It helps the brain to get the whole picture and understand why it matters to pay attention to a given feedback.
Does the cultural context make a difference and if so - how?
Absolutely. Erin Meyer explains this perfectly in her book, The Culture Map. She highlights how some countries prefer more direct feedback, while others lean toward a less direct approach, so cultural differences definitely play a role in how feedback is delivered. But beyond cultural differences, there are also personal preferences, and these can change over time - especially when people move abroad and adapt to their new environments. I've met individuals from cultures known for indirect communication who say things like, “I actually prefer when feedback is clear and straightforward, you don’t need to sugarcoat it.”
I always encourage teams to have open conversations about how each person likes to give and receive feedback. You might be surprised by what you learn.
What are the 3 most important elements of “good” feedback?
Let´s start with the main key point from the above: "high quality" feedback is specific and should have a focus on the impact.
Another important thing is keeping feedback short and clear - our brains don’t easily process long messages, it gets lost. Feedback typically gets lengthy when we include unnecessary, generic words that mean different things to different people, e.g. ‘be more professional'. Cut those words out and get straight to the point; it will make your message easier to understand.
Third, always try to have feedback conversations in person, especially if it’s something important. If you work remotely, turn on your cameras. People can’t easily fake body language unless they've been specifically trained, so you’ll get genuine insights from their reactions. If you notice discomfort, it might be a valuable moment to seek feedback about your own approach - essentially asking for "feedback about your feedback."
What are your 3 tips to anyone who is preparing for the feedback-conversations with their team members?
I like how this question partly answers itself, because preparation is essential for longer feedback conversations. First, gather clear examples - be specific about what happened, when, and where. This makes your feedback objective and easier for the other person to reflect on and use for action planning.
Second, think about the impact your feedback has on the individual, team, project, or organisation, and note it down. This helps your colleague understand the outcomes or consequences of their actions.
Finally, write down some questions you'd like to ask. Stay curious about their perspective, what happened, and how they’d like to move forward. Asking these questions helps you address any potential biases and makes the conversation feel collaborative rather than confrontational.
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The original post was published on HRnuggets.io in March.
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