The Impact of Micro-Feedback

Performance review. Feedback session. Manager check-in.

How many of you are cringing in your seats with anxiety seeing these terms? You’re not alone. Most people don’t like receiving or giving feedback! It’s hard to give and can be even harder to take…but it doesn’t have to be.

We often interpret feedback as a flaw, rather than a lesson in the ways we can grow. Feedback is a gift…when done correctly.

In this article I’m going to explain the importance of why micro-feedback needs to be a behaviour woven into your organisational culture and leader led, and share a methodology we can all practise to deliver feedback appropriately. I’ll provide examples so you have a greater understanding of why everyone takes on feedback differently, and why, if done well - it can have such a positive impact on personal growth, team commitment, motivation, organisational culture and overall wellbeing.

My hope is that by the end of reading this, you start to feel excited for your next check-in. Or at the very least, not dread it as much!

Let’s dive in!

Culture serves as the invisible scaffolding (the atmosphere) that shapes attitudes, behaviours, and norms within an organisation. When there is a culture of open communication, trust, and psychological safety, then feedback that is both empowering and challenging can be given and received better. You can’t give people difficult critiques and expect them to react well if you haven’t yet built a relationship or trust, and a relationship cannot function without trust. This is when people start to lose motivation, feel belittled, lose confidence, and of course take it personally. People are much better at taking on feedback (and don’t take it personally) if they know they’re valued and appreciated.

There’s a well-known phrase that, ‘Culture is caught not taught’ . Leaders have to demonstrate being able to give and receive feedback in order for it to be picked up throughout the organisation and between peers. We know that traditional feedback paradigms like quarterly check-ins and end of year reviews often fall short, hindered by their static nature and hierarchical constraints.

Micro-feedback, on the other hand, is small, consistent and regular with a focus on specific, identifiable behaviour and is addressed with the emphasis on the opportunity to do even better! You want people to think for themselves and for them to come to the ways that they could improve and grow. It happens on-the-job just-in-time and should be an ongoing part of your weekly engagement strategy with your team. This ensures that things don’t grow and fester into something bigger, when all that was needed was some clarity in the moment. Micro-feedback should be role modelled by leadership at all levels.

You also need to share feedback in the appropriate setting depending on the time of feedback (i.e. showing a mistake that someone made in the all-team meeting won’t land well). And you need to understand each person’s capacity for taking on feedback and what else is happening for them (i.e. if someone just came back from sick leave they may not be in the best head space).

What I love about creating a culture of leaders as coaches is that coaches are trained to help individuals give themselves the feedback they need to hear. If you can use inquiry to ask someone how they believe X went and they can identify their opportunities for improvement and where they did well - this is ideal. You know you have done this well when your team members are the first one’s to point out how they could have done something better, what they have learnt or how they might do something differently next time!

Another option, if you are in the building phase of this coaching culture of micro-feedback would be to use the SBI method (situation, behaviour, impact) which helps remove assumptions and narratives in order to get to the real intent. How this works is by describing the situation specifically then describing the observable behaviour without any opinions and then sharing the impact that was felt and the results from the behaviour. The radical candour approach through courageous conversations is another good one for the leadership toolkit - to care personally while challenging directly.

I am a firm believer that effective feedback mechanisms serve as the lifeblood of a healthy organisational culture. Continuous micro-feedback is what keeps us from becoming too chaotic or rigid. It is what helps us learn, grow and evolve. It’s what keeps us honest, happy and growing. Without it we may never reach our potential, feel resentful or frustrated and not say what we need to say to better the whole.

Imagine the potential of getting this right: individual wellbeing is uplifted, team motivation surges, and the company flourishes. Isn’t this what we all want? I know it may sound easier here than it does to action in real life but I guarantee if you make micro-feedback a habit your conversations will get easier! We’re complex individuals, working in complex systems with many moving parts and changes. So I want you to start super small. Remember, lots of small steps lead to big changes.

What is one piece of empowering micro-feedback you could give someone today?