How Strong Leaders Grow Through Feedback

“Minds are like parachutes, they only function when they are open” – Thomas Dewar

Steve Jobs was known for his strong personality, but Apple’s success was partly due to his ability to embrace hard feedback—often from people like Jony Ive. Great leaders grow through feedback, but only if they invite it the right way.

How often do you ask for feedback? And if you do, are you inviting it in a way that makes it feasible for people to give honest feedback? These aren’t casual questions – they strike at the heart of effective leadership.

Why Great Leaders Actively Seek and Apply Feedback

Great leaders understand that seeking feedback and acting on it:

Builds trust, transparency, and humility
Helps identify blind spots
Creates an environment where it’s acceptable for everyone to give and receive constructive feedback
Improves decision-making through others’ perspectives
Increases engagement and shows people you value their opinions
Helps you understand how your leadership style impacts others
Allows you to spot and address issues early

The Science of Feedback Resistance

Your palms sweat. Your heart rate increases. Your mind races to defend. These aren’t signs of weakness – they’re your brain’s threat response system doing exactly what it evolved to do. Understanding this helps us move from “fight or flight” to “pause and process.”

Feedback is a gift. When someone offers you feedback, they’re showing remarkable courage. Children naturally tell us exactly what they think, but as adults, we’ve learnt to sugarcoat our observations. That’s why creating the right environment for feedback is crucial, especially as a leader. It’s an opportunity to gain insights from others that you can’t possibly know if you don’t ask for them.

The key is being open: “I need you to be honest with me because I can’t work on something if I don’t know about it.” Yes, it might feel uncomfortable for both parties, but that discomfort is the price of growth. We don’t grow when we sit in our comfort zone.

Making Feedback Actionable: The SBIN Framework

A popular framework is the SBI framework … we’ve added an extra N so that it is action-focused. When asking for feedback, structure helps. The SBIN framework (Situation, Behaviour, Impact, Next Steps) transforms vague feedback into specific, actionable insights:

Situation: Set the context
- Example: “In yesterday’s team meeting I’m not sure if you were aware but…”
Behaviour: Describe the specific action
- Example: “When you interrupted Sarah’s presentation…”
Impact: Explain the effect
- Example: “It made her hesitant to continue to share ideas later…were you aware of this?”
Next Steps: Define action items
- Example: “What can you do to avoid this next time?”

Handling Difficult Feedback

Sometimes feedback hits hard, especially when it challenges what you thought was a strength. In these moments, remember to:

Write it down
Ask for specific examples: “Can you give me a time when I’ve done that? What was the impact?”
Listen without interrupting
Ask questions to understand more deeply
Resist becoming defensive – most feedback isn’t a personal attack
Recognise how hard it is for the feedback giver to deliver it – it takes courage

Processing Feedback

You have four options when receiving feedback:

Accept it fully
Reflect on it further
Check it out with someone else
Reject it thoughtfully

When receiving conflicting feedback from different sources, consider:

The context in which each piece of feedback was given
The expertise and perspective of each feedback provider
Patterns or themes that emerge across different sources
Your own observations and experiences

The SALAD Framework for Meaningful Feedback

Just as a healthy diet needs a regular helping of greens, healthy leadership requires a steady serving of feedback. And much like how we carefully choose ingredients for the perfect salad, we need the right components for meaningful feedback. That’s where our SALAD framework comes in – and yes, we chose the name deliberately!

Safe Environment

Create a safe environment and open culture for feedback.

Example Statement: “I want to ensure I’m leading successfully so that the team feels both supported and stretched. Your honest feedback is important to me and I’d really like to have your thoughts on how I can improve.”

Ask Questions

Ask specific questions to get the feedback you need.

“What’s one thing I’m doing which gets in the way of you doing your job?”
“How does the way I work affect your ability to do your job?”
“How can I make meetings more productive?”
“How can I support you more?”

Listen

Listen without being defensive even if it feels uncomfortable.

Example Response: “That’s a really helpful point. Can you give me a specific example so I can reflect on it?”

Action

Think about specific actions you can take and share those actions with others.

Example Commitment: “Based on your feedback, I will start ensuring we have an agenda for meetings.”

Development

Make this part of your continuous development by regularly asking yourself:

How can I use this feedback?
Why must I take this on board?
When will I use this?
What progress am I making?
What else can I improve?

Sustaining a Feedback Culture

To maintain effective feedback practices over time:

Schedule regular feedback sessions, both formal and informal
Document feedback and your progress on acting upon it
Celebrate instances where feedback leads to positive changes
Model the behaviour by actively seeking and visibly acting on feedback
Share your own feedback journey with your team, including successes and struggles

Conclusion

Remember, whilst you can choose to reject feedback, patterns of similar feedback from multiple sources usually indicate areas worthy of attention. The true measure of leadership isn’t in receiving feedback – it’s in what you do with it. By creating a culture where feedback flows freely and constructively, you not only improve your own leadership but build stronger, more resilient teams.

The journey of seeking and acting on feedback is continuous. Each piece of feedback, whether accepted or rejected, contributes to your growth as a leader and helps create an environment where everyone can perform at their best.

The best leaders aren’t those who have all the answers, but those who are willing to listen, learn, and evolve. Make feedback one of your essential leadership tools.

Ready to Transform Your Leadership? Start Asking for Feedback Today!

Take the first step: Schedule a feedback conversation this week. Your growth begins with one honest conversation.

P.S Want to Dive Deeper into Leadership Development?

Connect with our team of leadership, people and culture specialists. We offer personalised workshops, coaching, and resources to help you master the art of feedback and leadership growth.