The right feedback to team members is necessary to move your business forward.  Today we talk about how to criticize and provide feedback to your team in a way that is most productive and advances you and the team toward your common goals.

Hiten says he used to “walk on eggshells” and was much softer when he felt the need to give critical feedback to a team member.  His delivery has changed to a much more straight-forward exchange.  He feels as long as the criticism is in line with the common goals, the direct approach is more effective and allows the team to move faster.  He says he explains things in more detail to team members now and that also helps with forward movement.  We also discuss how if you don’t talk about the issue you end up holding it.  Steli thinks that no issue is too small not to be brought up and doing so allows for resolution.  He believes that when you create a culture where you bring up even the smallest of issues everyone learns to discuss issues early and in a non-confrontational way.  

Some other topics relating to today’s subject include:

  • How feedback can lead the team to begin finding problems themselves
  • Getting context through questions before giving feedback
  • Relationships with co-founders and in particular Hiten’s co-founder Neil Patel

Today’s Tips:

Hiten:  If you see something where you have to give somebody feedback and your first instinct is to be harsh, write it down first and then go back to it later and create the version that people should hear.

Steli: Instead of immediately acting on an impulse of something that you are unhappy with ask yourself what what are you unhappy with about yourself.  Or ask yourself if you are working hard enough.  You may find that the source of what you’re unhappy with has more to do with yourself than what you thought.

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