About this session
A manager tells an employee they need to 'be more strategic.' The employee leaves knowing the manager is dissatisfied but not what they should do differently. Another leader avoids giving corrective feedback because the employee has been working hard.
A third asks the team for honest feedback, then spends the next twenty minutes explaining why each criticism is based on incomplete information. In every case, feedback is happening.
Useful learning is not.
For leaders, feedback carries additional weight because the manager often influences work allocation, development opportunities, performance decisions and the employee's experience of the organization. A vague comment from a colleague can be frustrating.
The same vague comment from a manager can alter how an employee understands their standing, capability or future. Leadership feedback therefore requires clarity, evidence and appropriate judgment.
This session develops both sides of that responsibility. Participants learn to prepare feedback around observable behavior, relevant impact, the applicable standard and a usable next step.
They distinguish feedback from instruction, coaching, recognition, performance management and formal organizational processes so the conversation is matched to what the situation actually requires.
Participants also practice what happens after the opening message. The employee may disagree with the manager's interpretation, provide context the manager had not considered or react emotionally to difficult information.
Strong feedback does not require the recipient to agree immediately. Leaders learn to stay with the evidence, hear relevant context, correct their own assumptions where necessary and remain clear about the standard or decision that still applies.
Receiving feedback creates a different leadership test. Employees may take a significant interpersonal risk when telling a manager that their priorities are unclear, their meetings shut down challenge or their behavior is affecting the team.
Leaders learn to manage the first impulse to justify intent, ask for specificity, evaluate what they hear and communicate what they will do with the information.
Receiving well does not mean accepting every interpretation as fact; it means treating the information seriously enough to understand it before deciding.
Longer formats move beyond one conversation into a feedback operating system. Participants examine recognition, developmental feedback, corrective feedback, upward feedback, follow-through, fairness and the frequency with which feedback should occur.
They test new practices in real or simulated work and examine whether feedback leads to clearer behavior, better decisions and stronger ownership. The goal is not more feedback.
It is feedback people can understand, use and trust.
What your people take away
- Distinguish recognition, developmental feedback, corrective feedback, coaching, instruction and formal performance processes so the response fits the situation
- Build feedback around observable behavior, relevant impact, the applicable standard and a clear next action rather than personality judgment
- Handle disagreement, defensiveness and new context without withdrawing valid feedback or defending an inaccurate interpretation
- Receive upward feedback with enough openness to understand the message before explaining intent, authority or constraints
- Evaluate feedback intelligently, choose what requires action and close the loop so employees know what happened after they spoke
- Build fair, consistent feedback practices that strengthen employee ownership without creating constant monitoring, manager dependence or feedback fatigue
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What each length covers
30 minutes
30 Minutes — Key Points: Make Feedback a Credible Leadership PracticeA focused 30-minute session on three key points from Make Feedback a Credible Leadership Practice: know what kind of conversation you are having, start with observable evidence and connect the feedback with a real standard.
- Know what kind of conversation you are having
- Start with observable evidence
- Connect the feedback with a real standard
Covers 3 of 4 points in Make Feedback a Credible Leadership Practice.
60 minutes
60 Minutes — Give Feedback People Can Actually UseA focused leadership foundation centered on Modules 1 and the core delivery practice from Module 2. Participants distinguish feedback from coaching, instruction and formal performance action, then prepare one reinforcing or corrective message using observable behavior, relevant impact, the applicable standard and a usable next step. A short receiving-feedback exercise introduces the leader's responsibility to hear challenge before explaining intent. Participants leave with a Feedback Conversation Planner and one immediate practice commitment.
- Feedback vs. coaching, instruction and performance process
- Observable behavior vs. interpretation
- Impact and applicable standards
- Behavior–Impact–Standard–Next Step
- Inviting employee context
- Receiving feedback without immediate defense
- Live Q&A
Covers 1 of 4 parts: Make Feedback a Credible Leadership Practice.
90 minutes
90 Minutes — Lead Better Two-Way Feedback ConversationsAn extended session covering Modules 1 and 2 with focused application from Module 3. Participants prepare and deliver difficult feedback, respond to disagreement, and then reverse roles to receive challenging upward feedback as the leader. Structured feedback examines evidence, clarity, listening, power dynamics and follow-through. Participants leave with a Feedback-to-Action Record and a plan for one workplace conversation.
- Choosing the correct management conversation
- Evidence-based feedback
- Behavior, impact, standards and next steps
- Employee context and disagreement
- Handling defensiveness
- Receiving upward feedback
- Evaluating the feedback
- Closing the loop
- Live Q&A
Covers 2 of 4 parts: Make Feedback a Credible Leadership Practice and Give Feedback That Creates Clarity and Change.
3 hours
Covers 3 of 4 parts: Make Feedback a Credible Leadership Practice, Give Feedback That Creates Clarity and Change and Receive Feedback Without Defending Your Status.
Full day
Full Day — Leadership Feedback and Two-Way Accountability IntensiveAn eight-hour workshop day with 405 minutes of facilitated learning and application, plus 75 minutes of breaks. Participants diagnose the feedback need, give reinforcing and corrective feedback, stay constructive when the employee disagrees, receive upward feedback as the person with more power, examine fairness and feedback reliability across the team, and build a Leadership Feedback Operating System. A final unfamiliar case requires them to decide whether feedback is still the correct management intervention and demonstrate both giving and receiving capability.
- A complete feedback-purpose and evidence foundation
- Reinforcing and corrective feedback practice
- Defensiveness, disagreement and changed context
- Upward feedback and leadership power
- Feedback fairness, calibration and culture
- A Leadership Feedback Operating System and 90-day roadmap
- Live Q&A
Covers all 4 parts.
Also available as a 4-week or 8-week program, for change that lasts. Ask us about it.
What’s covered
Make Feedback a Credible Leadership Practice
Every length- Know what kind of conversation you are havingRecognition, developmental feedback, corrective feedback, coaching, direct instruction and formal performance action serve different purposes.
- Start with observable evidenceStatements such as 'you are not strategic,' 'you are difficult' or 'you lack ownership' combine interpretation with judgment and leave the employee to guess which behavior created the conclusion.
- Connect the feedback with a real standardFeedback has greater credibility when employees understand what expectation, agreed behavior or outcome it relates to.
- Choose timing and setting with purposeFeedback should usually arrive close enough to the event for both people to remember what happened, while allowing enough preparation for a fair conversation.
Give Feedback That Creates Clarity and Change
90 minutes and longer- Make the message specific enough to useUseful feedback helps the employee understand what happened, why it matters and what stronger or effective behavior looks like.
- Make it two-way without losing the management messageThe manager may not have seen every constraint or decision behind the employee's behavior.
- Handle defensiveness, emotion, and disagreementA defensive response can mean the feedback was surprising, unclear, inaccurate, difficult to hear or simply unwelcome.
- End with ownership and follow-throughFeedback is incomplete when the employee leaves knowing what the manager disliked but not what should happen next.
Receive Feedback Without Defending Your Status
3 hours and longer- Notice the power difference in upward feedbackA leader asking for feedback does not remove the power difference in the relationship.
- Manage the first impulse to explain yourselfLeaders often hold context the employee does not have, so an explanation may eventually matter.
- Evaluate feedback without dismissing or obeying itUpward feedback contains observations and interpretations that deserve consideration, but it is not automatically objective truth.
- Close the loop after people speakLeaders can damage trust by repeatedly requesting feedback and never indicating what happened afterward.
Build a Feedback System People Can Trust
Full day only- Make feedback part of the work — not constant commentaryTeams benefit when useful feedback can happen before an annual review or a major failure.
- Keep standards fair and feedback consistentCredibility falls when one employee receives detailed corrective feedback for behavior tolerated in another, or when expectations change according to the manager's relationship with the person.
- Create channels for upward and peer challengeLeaders cannot personally observe every effect of their decisions.
- Measure whether feedback changes anythingCounting feedback conversations says little about their quality.
Tools and materials
- Feedback-or-Another-Response Guide — helps leaders distinguish feedback from recognition, coaching, instruction, a management decision, performance process or specialist intervention
- Feedback Evidence and Standard Map — records observable behavior, source, relevant context, applicable expectation and assumptions requiring verification
- Feedback Conversation Planner — structures purpose, evidence, impact, standard, employee context, next action and follow-through
- Behavior–Impact–Standard–Next Step Guide — provides a practical structure for reinforcing and corrective leadership feedback
- Leadership Feedback Observer Guide — supports behavioral feedback on clarity, evidence, listening, power, empathy, standards and ownership during practice
- Difficult Feedback Response Guide — helps leaders respond to defensiveness, disagreement, emotion and new contextual information without losing necessary clarity
- Feedback-to-Action Record — defines the behavior or outcome required, employee ownership, manager support, evidence and review point
- Upward Feedback Request Builder — helps leaders ask focused questions about a particular behavior, decision, meeting or leadership practice instead of requesting generic feedback
- Upward Feedback Reception Guide — supports listening, clarification, acknowledgement and delayed explanation when receiving challenging feedback from employees
- Feedback Evaluation Canvas — examines specificity, evidence, source perspective, patterns, alternatives and the appropriate response to feedback received
- Leadership Feedback Follow-Through Record — tracks feedback received, leadership actions, investigations, decisions, owners and closure
- Behavior Change and Follow-Through Planner — turns important feedback into an observable practice opportunity while avoiding unnecessary manager monitoring
- Feedback Fairness and Calibration Check — compares standards, evidence and manager responses across similar situations and identifies relevant reasons for differences
- Team Feedback Rhythm Planner — defines where recognition, developmental feedback, corrective feedback and reflection naturally fit into existing management work
- Feedback Route Map — identifies direct, peer, upward, team, specialist and formal channels and when each is appropriate
How booking works
- Book online. Create a free Workbliss profile, then pay with session credits, by card or by invoice.
- Pick a date. Choose a date at least 14 days ahead, or book now and set the date later.
- Choose your expert. Within 3 working days, we send you profiles of the experts available for your date.
- We deliver it. Your expert is briefed on your people and goals, then runs the session live online or at your site.
Questions about Giving and Receiving Constructive Feedback
How long is Giving and Receiving Constructive Feedback?
Giving and Receiving Constructive Feedback runs as 30 minutes, 60 minutes, 90 minutes, 3 hours or full day. You choose the length when you book. A 30-minute session covers three key points from Make Feedback a Credible Leadership Practice: know what kind of conversation you are having, start with observable evidence and connect the feedback with a real standard. A 60-minute session covers Make Feedback a Credible Leadership Practice in full, with a live Q&A. A 90-minute session adds Give Feedback That Creates Clarity and Change. A 3-hour session adds Receive Feedback Without Defending Your Status. A full-day session adds Build a Feedback System People Can Trust. It is also available as a 4-week or 8-week program.
Can Giving and Receiving Constructive Feedback be delivered online or in person?
Yes, both. It runs live online, so every office can join at the same time, or in person at your site, in any country.
How do we book Giving and Receiving Constructive Feedback?
Create a free Workbliss profile with your work email, then open Giving and Receiving Constructive Feedback to see the price for each length and book it. You can pay with session credits, by card or by invoice, and choose a date at least 14 days ahead, or set it later.
Who leads the session?
A vetted Workbliss expert, briefed on your people, culture and goals before the session. After you book, we send you profiles of the experts available for your date within 3 working days, so you can choose who leads it.
Can it be tailored to our company?
Yes. Every session is shaped around your goals, your people and the benefits you already offer, and delivered by experts in your people’s languages.