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The Winning Formula for Delivering Constructive Feedback to Your Team

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The fear of damaging relationships with team members or negatively impacting internal dynamics can make it difficult to provide feedback, especially when it involves addressing areas of improvement. However, avoiding constructive criticism altogether can be detrimental to both the individual and the team's growth and development.

In actuality, increased communication can boost retention rates and contribute to a high-performing team. Jessica Kriegal, chief scientist of workplace culture for Culture Partners, emphasizes the critical role of feedback in building a strong team, not just in terms of tactical performance, but also in fostering a positive workplace environment.

Kriegal, who leads research and strategy in best practices for driving results through culture, applies data-driven insights to dismantle the potential chaos of poor morale, low performance, and missed financial goals. According to her studies, the key to delivering effective feedback lies in connecting the dots between the employee's actions, the organization's culture, and its key results.

On a recent episode of WorkParty, Kriegal shared a format for delivering constructive feedback that not only helps employees improve, but reinforces the organization's values and mission:

Action + Cultural Belief + Key Result = Effective Feedback

Instead of simply saying "good job," or "this didn't work" leaders should provide specific feedback that connects the employee's action with their company's cultural belief. This helps the employee understand the context and purpose behind their actions and reinforces the organization's values and mission. This could look like:

You did a great job on that project (action), which is an example of our cultural belief in teamwork (cultural belief), something we want to nurture. As a result of your contribution, we were able to exceed our quarterly revenue goals (key result).

"[It's] connecting dots for employees, and they're able to lean into that action more," Kriegel says. Further, this tactic organically reinforces the organization's values and mission, which can help create a stronger, more cohesive culture.

But how do you know when to give feedback, and how often should you do it? Kriegal says the answer depends on the type of issue you're dealing with. For example, if it's a culture fit issue, it's important as a hiring manager to begin giving feedback early on in the employee's tenure to ensure that they understand and align with the organization's values. If it's a job skill issue, you may need to provide ongoing feedback and coaching to help the employee develop the necessary skills.

Learn more about the best practices that can transform workplace culture by tuning into Kriegal's episode of WorkParty.

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How To Set (And Keep) Boundaries as a Newly-Minted Solopreneur

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By Jennifer Berson, founder and president of Jeneration PR

When I first shifted my career from working as a civil litigator to running my own public relations agency, I struggled with setting boundaries. Answering texts from clients on evenings and weekends became the norm, and I stopped everything to answer an email from a client—no matter what time of day. I needed to create a vision for my life and business—and make a concerted effort to protect my time.

I know from experience that it can be tough to set boundaries with your clients, especially if you already have a working relationship with them. So here are my top tips for drawing those much-needed lines in the sand—no matter where you are with your clients in your journey as a solopreneur.

1. Set a precedent right from the start

You don’t have to exhaust yourself as an entrepreneur. Newer business owners feel they need to earn the ability to set boundaries, but that’s not the case. You created this business for yourself, right? That means you can make it look however you want for yourself, including client boundaries. 

Realize that you deserve to create your business like this from the get-go. You shouldn’t feel the need to instantly reply to every client communication or stay at your computer at all hours of the night. Entrepreneurship doesn’t have to be that way for you to be successful. In fact, it’s a recipe for burnout.

2. Shift your mindset and your availability

Many new solopreneurs struggle to set boundaries because they believe they have to be on 24/7 for the sake of their clients. This is a misconception and a bad mindset to be in when kicking off your business. 

You don’t have to be accessible at all times to be a good service provider. When you have boundaries in place, clients respect your availability (as long as you’re getting the work done). They’ll see you crushing it during your available hours and will trust that if anything comes up after hours, you’ll get back to them right away the next morning.

3. Vacation is still vacation—even if you work for yourself

Taking time off is always okay. As long as the work gets done, it should not matter—barring the rare work emergency, of course! 

Make sure you convey your available hours to your client in what you say and do. Don't send a proposal or work-related emails after hours or while you're supposed to be OOO. Doing so sets the expectation that you’re working and accessible around the clock, and clients can easily take advantage of that. 

It’s all about the follow-through here. You have to exemplify your boundaries, not just have them in your head or mention them to your clients. 

4. Be ready to speak up for yourself

If you have a client with a habit of sending last-minute asks and after-hours messages, you must correct the course. If it doesn’t get better when you work on it, know that it’ll probably never get better, and you might need to part ways with the client. 

Don’t be intimidated to say something to your client when the last-minute asks are becoming too much and your client's boundaries are being crossed. Your relationship with them should be mutually respectful. You’re running a business just like they are. 

About Jennifer Berson

Jennifer Berson is a former civil litigator turned strategic communications advisor who champions the PR agency model for ambitious women seeking a satisfying, high-powered career that doesn’t require the sacrifice of personal and family time to make a powerful impact. Her mentorship and direction as the founder of the Jeneration Academy community have led thousands of international boutique PR agency owners to quickly scale their businesses to six figures and beyond.

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Why 'Quiet Quitting' Has Become So Pervasive, According To These 5 Founders

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It’s no surprise that Google searches for “quiet quitting” have spiked over the last month. Everyone seems to have a hot take on this topic, referring to an employee's decision to detach emotionally from their day jobs, instead of physically handing in their resignation letters. Although the buzz around the subject is new, quiet quitting is a workforce phenomenon with which many of us are all too familiar. 

As TikTok user zaidleppelin pointed out in a post that launched a thousand think pieces, quietly deciding to coast through your job responsibilities is a way to reject hustle culture. (Ever heard of it?) However, it also raises questions about why nine-to-fivers feel the need to phone it in at work in the first place. 

So is “quiet quitting” a product of a lack of inflation raises as the cost of living continues to increase? Or does it stem from the fact that 59 percent of managers are reporting feeling overworked as of 2021? Maybe it’s something else! While there’s no one culprit of quiet quitting, here’s five founders to offer their honest opinions about why quiet quitting has a loud message about workplace happiness (and one thing leaders can do to keep quiet quitting out of their company culture). 

Monisha Bajaj, Founder and Business Strategist of m times v

“Instead of accepting the status quo, people are starting to zoom out and redefine their personal relationship to work,” Bajaj says. She attributes quiet quitting to a cultural shift in how work fits into our lives.  “At the same time, we still live in a society where work is how you make money to support your livelihood. So, in part, people who are deciding to quiet quit may not feel they have the power to change how their workplace is structured or the need to make a living, but they’ve realized they can control how they personally show up.”

Bajaj’s advice for how leaders can support employees in the age of quiet quitting: “As leaders, it’s important to actively foster a healthy workplace that promotes autonomy and that is free from any kind of coercion, shame, and blame,” she advises. “When you show people respect through how you structure your workplace and the culture you create, it gives them room to show up fully engaged.” 

Lekisha Middleton, Founder of The Good Success Network

Some argue that “quiet quitting” is a fancy, 21st-century term for simply doing what’s in your job description, and calling it a day. Middleton is in that camp. “If quiet quitting is quitting anything, it's the hustle and grind culture. It's doing exactly what you were hired to do and providing an even exchange between the work you're doing, the value you're adding, and the compensation and benefits you're receiving in return,” she explains. 

Middleton’s advice for how leaders can support employees in the age of quiet quitting: “Leaders should not expect employees to go above and beyond their assigned job duties for the same compensation and benefits,” she says. “People have a right to keep strong boundaries between their work and personal lives, and human-centered leaders both understand and respect that right.”

Jess Podgajny, Co-Founder and CEO of LLUNA

Hybrid work culture is on the rise, and as we WFH, WFW, and do some blend of both, the idea of the “office” needs to evolve for the better. “We cannot simply put a policy in place [for where people should work] and then expect everyone to operate exactly the same way as before, yet within a whole new context. Companies need to engage employees differently, motivate them regularly, and, most importantly, connect employees with the purpose and meaning of their work in much more intentional ways,” Podgajny shares.

Podgajny’s advice for how leaders can support employees in the age of quiet quitting: “In the age of hybrid and remote work, leaders and companies must prioritize clear messaging and regular dialogue with employees to convey the meaning of a job, and connect daily outcomes to purpose. Hard work is easy when the purpose is motivating,” she adds.

Kimone Napier, Founder of Hire Breakthrough

Napier says that “quiet firing” is yet another factor contributing to people feeling disinvested from work. “Quiet quitting is a direct correlation of quiet firing. For years, employees have fired workers at will and without any indication. Although quiet firing is tied to legalities to avoid a lawsuit, workers feel this approach is not inclusive. As a result quiet quitting is workers taking power into their own hands when it comes to their positions and the future of work,” Napier says. 

Napier’s advice for how leaders can support employees in the age of quiet quitting: “Business owners and leaders need to be aware of the signs of quiet quitting (less enthusiasm, lack of contribution, lateness, etc.) amongst their workers. Rather than ignoring the signs, employers need to speak to their workers to get their feedback once they notice the signs,” she advises. “They should also look at the worker's workload, look at their career paths, and help them to set some work boundaries.”

Rachel Kanarowski, Founder of Year of Living Better

“Ultimately, quiet quitting is a management issue,” Kanarowski says. “It's not about the caricature of ‘The Lazy Employee,’ but more about knowing what you truly need from each member of your team, and being comfortable if that is exactly what they deliver, no-more-no-less. When leaders cannot define what success looks like for a role and how that success will be measured, they are inadvertently creating an adversarial work relationship where their people can never feel certain they've done what's expected of them.” 


Kanarowski’s advice for how leaders can support employees in the age of quiet quitting: Kanarowski is a big advocate of “stay interviews,” or bi-weekly, one-on-one meetings held with everyone on your direct team, to gather feedback about what’s working and what isn’t. “Think of this as a relationship check-in; it shouldn't be combined with a status report or other functional meeting where this person would be presenting to you,” she says. “While it might seem counterintuitive to add more meetings, research shows that ‘stay interviews’ decrease turnover and increase engagement, and research by Gallup shows a direct correlation between decreased communication and a perception that their organization doesn't care about their well-being.”

Written by Kells McPhillips

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7 Easy Ways to Improve Employee Check-Ins for a Happier Team

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Never underestimate the power of a simple check-in. It might seem like a small gesture, but check-ins are an essential element of strong communication and can be a source of employee empowerment. While regular check-ins are valuable in all sorts of relationships, when you’re building a business, checking in with your employees not only improves morale but can also drive growth, retention, and long-term success.

1. Practice healthy communication. 

These communication themes can impact a range of outputs, from efficiency to engagement and retention. 

  • Positive: “How’s that report on widget theory coming along—any support I can provide?”

  • Neutral: “Do you have that report on widget theory finished?”

  • Negative: “Where’s the widget theory report I asked for yesterday?”

While all of these questions are driving toward the same topic, the outcomes of those question styles will differ dramatically. Not surprisingly, good check-in outcomes rely on good check-in questions. 

2. DO check in, DON’T micromanage.

While a check-in can be helpful and motivating, micromanagement is often de-motivating and hinders progress. Without thoughtful framing, a well-meaning check-in question could be perceived as micromanagement. For anyone who has worked under a micromanager, you know precisely how much it can erode trust and respect. 

3. Optimize check-in cadence, context, and cause.

Understanding these three key elements is critical to making your check-ins mutually beneficial.

Cadence helps define the value of both the question and answer. If the answer isn’t likely to change since the last check-in, the cadence is too short. Anyone who has been on a long car ride with kids has likely heard, “Are we there yet?” countless times. The more a question is asked, the less valuable it gets.

On the flip side, you can miss a lot of important information if you wait too long between check-ins. If you’re asking how happy your employees are once a year, you’ve almost surely missed opportunities to provide support and guidance.

There’s no perfect cadence for all check-ins or all employees. The key is simply paying attention. Find a cadence that aligns with your mutual goals and adjust as needed.

Context aligns your check-in to the topic at hand, setting your recipient up to give the most relevant and useful response. If you schedule a meeting to ask someone who’s in the midst of a time crunch how connected they feel to their remote peers, that’s an example of poor context. Whereas checking your employee’s calendar in advance and scheduling your meeting with their time in mind sets the stage for a more valuable check-in.

Cause defines the level of discretionary effort and cooperation you’re likely to experience.

If you’re checking in because you want to provide support during a difficult time or on a challenging pursuit, there’s a greater chance you’ll get candid and helpful responses. However, if your check-in exists purely to serve your own interests, it’s less likely to inspire the same discretionary effort.

4. Find your balance.

A successful check-in strategy hinges on the balance of individual and shared benefits. This simple litmus test can help you find that balance.

Are these questions:

  • Asked often enough?

  • Asked too often?

Is this check-in:

  • Contextual to the situation?

  • Relevant to the recipient?

Is this check-in:

  • For my benefit?

  • For my employee’s benefit?

  • For our mutual benefit?

5. Know your data needs.

A successful check-in starts with formatting the questions in a way that helps your employees give meaningful answers. Next, you need to determine what kind of data you’re hoping to capture. 

  • Quantitative Data - Data that can easily be quantified, codified, and viewed in aggregate. Quantitative answers are usually much faster and take less mental bandwidth to give.

  • Qualitative Data - Data that cannot easily be quantified and typically require more time and thought.

To determine what type of data you need, check in with yourself as you’re forming questions:

  • “What do I need to learn from this check-in?”

  • “Why do I need to learn that?”

  • “What will I do with the knowledge?”

6. Standardize your check-in formats.

The number of formats you can ask a question in are almost unlimited, but to standardize the answers, these are some of the most popular and easy-to-digest options: 

  • Open-ended: Do you feel appreciated?

  • Multiple choice: What makes you feel appreciated?

    • a) Positive feedback from my boss

    • b) Positive feedback from my peers

    • c) Raises/bonuses

    • d) All of the above

  • Multi-select: What would make you feel more appreciated?

    • ☑ More schedule flexibility

    • ☑ More praise 

    • ☑ Better benefits

  • Numeric range: On a scale of 1-10 with 1 being not at all, and 10 being extremely, how appreciated do you feel?

    • 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10

  • Descriptive range: I feel appreciated:

    • always

    • sometimes

    • never

  • Illustrative/emoji range: Thinking about how I’m appreciated at work makes me feel:

    • 😃🙂😐😕☹️😫

If you’re looking for a laser-focused answer, then it’s only logical to ask it in a quantitative format, such as the 1-10 scale. But that data can only tell you if there’s a problem - not why. That’s where qualitative follow-up questions come in. 

For example, if your goal is improving your team’s remote work experience, follow your 1-10 scale with an open-ended question: “What’s one thing that would improve your remote work setup?” This allows you to see that there’s a problem and start working toward a solution. 

7. Structure your questions to better answers.

The trick to getting a useful answer without burdening your audience is to narrow the response range. You want to narrow the range enough that it makes the question easy to answer, but not so much that you lose the depth needed to move forward.

If you ask a series of open-ended questions, you may find that your employee struggles to answer in good time (or at all). Again, balance—between the type of info you need and the burden it requires—is the key. 

Just remember, whether you’re the CEO or just starting out, we all simply want to be heard. Doing a little work on the front-end to ensure you’re giving your team the best possible employee experience can go a long way in growing your business.  

"A successful check-in strategy hinges on the balance of individual and shared benefits."

About the author: Audra Aulabaugh is the head of people operations at Polly. Over her people-focused career, Audra has built talent acquisition and people experience frameworks to support a variety of tech companies at various stages of growth and scale.  She is passionate about people and creating experiences that allow them to shine and do their best work.

Featured image: Smith House Photo