How Great Leaders Give Feedback

Why It Matters

Personalized, positive feedback transforms employee motivation into measurable productivity gains, giving companies a competitive edge.

Key Takeaways

• Celebrate correct actions to boost morale and inspire others
• Learn employees’ personal hopes to personalize feedback effectively
• Tailor feedback to how each individual prefers to receive it
• Onboarding should convey vision and personal growth expectations
• Make every employee feel seen, heard, and supported

Summary

The video outlines how great leaders should approach feedback, emphasizing positive reinforcement and personal connection rather than criticism.

Key practices include catching employees doing things right, celebrating those moments, and learning each person’s hopes and dreams to tailor feedback. Leaders are urged to give feedback the way the recipient prefers, not how they themselves like to receive it.

Examples cited include a board displaying every employee’s personal aspirations and an onboarding speech that limits the message to two points: the company’s larger vision and the expectation that each person leaves better than they arrived.

By making staff feel seen, heard, and supported, organizations can boost morale, increase engagement, and drive higher performance, turning feedback into a growth engine.

Original Description

Great leaders see and invest in employees as whole persons.

Which of these approaches can you try out this week?

Video from Chick-fil-A Next 2025, in conversation with Chief Legal Officer Lynette Smith