3 Tips for Giving Constructive Criticism To Your Team

As a business owner with a team, it’s inevitable that you’re going to have to have tough conversations with your team members from time to time. No one is perfect, miscommunication will happen, and mistakes will be made. On the same note, there is always room for improvement, for you and your team. Therefore, you need to find a supportive and effective way to give constructive criticism to your team. 

One of the biggest mistakes a business owner can make is overriding their team members’ work without communicating first. You might think it’s just “faster” or “easier” to go into work your team has done, such as a sales page, email funnels, etc., and make adjustments yourself. 

However, if you do this without communicating to your team that you are doing this or that you want changes made, how will they ever learn, grow, and improve? It’s counterproductive to just go in and make the changes yourself without communicating your expectations to them. Constructive feedback helps your team grow and improve.⁠ Check out my top three tips for giving constructive criticism.

⁠Tip #1: For every piece of negative feedback, also mention something positive.⁠ 

You can use the “compliment sandwich” method by starting the conversation with a positive, moving on to your constructive feedback, and then ending with a positive. This can also be called the “glow and grow” method. Boost your team members’ confidence by telling them what they are doing amazing at, followed by an area in which you’d love to see them (and help them!) grow.

⁠Tip #2:  Give specifics. 

If you don't like something, you have to tell your team member WHY. This helps them understand your thought process, make the right changes, and improve in the future.⁠ Without specifics, they’ll never truly understand why the changes needed to be made. When working with various clients, it’s important to give them the specifics and wishes of each client.

⁠Tip #3: Not every project is a win or a failure. 

There are grey areas and everything that isn't working is an area for improvement!⁠ Every task and project is an opportunity to grow and fine-tune your skills. By communicating your expectations and feedback to your team, they can show up with their best work each and every time.

With these 3 tips for giving constructive criticism to your team, you’ll be well on your way to kick-ass communication with your team!

If you’re needing support and advice for how to give constructive feedback, hold reviews, or lead a team, click here to apply for 1:1 Get Shit Done Coaching so I can help you along the way!