Feedback: The Elixir of Leadership

Feedback: Can be positive and negative !

Leadership development doesn’t happen in a vacuum.

It happens in conversations, in reflections, when corrected, in practice, and, yes, sometimes in those slightly uncomfortable moments when someone tells us what we need to hear rather than what we want to hear.

That is where feedback comes in.

Feedback is indeed the elixir of leadership development as it keeps growth alive, it gives leaders a clearer view of their behaviour, their impact, their blind spots, and the opportunities for improvement. Without feedback, leaders are often left guessing. They may assume their message is landing well, their team feels supported, or their decisions are inspiring confidence. But assumptions are shaky ground. Feedback replaces guesswork with insight.

In their influential article, The Power of Feedback, John Hattie and Helen Timperley describe feedback as one of the most powerful influences on learning and achievement. They argue that effective feedback helps close the gap between current performance and a desired goal by answering three essential questions: “Where am I going?”, “How am I going?”, and “Where to next?”

That framework applies beautifully to leadership as great leaders are learners. They are constantly adjusting how they communicate, make decisions, coach others, handle conflict, and create trust. Feedback gives them the information they need to do that work well.

Within leadership development, feedback is information that helps a leader understand the difference between their intended impact and their actual impact, and that distinction matters.

A leader may intend to be decisive, but their team may experience them as impatient. A manager may intend to empower people, but employees may feel abandoned. A senior executive may intend to challenge the organisation, but others may hear criticism without direction. Feedback bridges that gap.

It tells leaders, “Here is what you are aiming for, here is what’s happening and here is what you can adjust next.” Feedback is more than a yearly review or a quick comment after a meeting. It is a learning system that helps leaders build self-awareness, refine behaviour, and improve performance over time. Good feedback does not simply say, “You did well” or “You need to improve.” It explains what happened, why it mattered, and what could happen next. In simple terms, feedback becomes developmental when it is specific, timely, goal-related, and actionable.

The Research-Backed Power of Feedback

The article referenced earlier by Hattie and Timperley provides a strong research foundation for understanding why feedback is so powerful. Their review explains that feedback can significantly influence learning, but not all feedback works equally well. Feedback is most effective when it is connected to clear goals, gives information about progress, and helps the learner decide what to do next. That last part is crucial for leadership development.

Leaders do not grow simply because someone gives them an opinion. They grow when feedback gives them usable information. For example:

“Your presentation was confusing” may be true, but it is not very helpful.

“Your presentation had strong data, but the main recommendation came too late. Next time, open with the decision you need from the group, then use the data to support it” is much more useful.

See the difference? The second version gives direction.

This idea is also supported by Kluger and DeNisi’s feedback intervention theory. Their research showed that feedback does not automatically improve performance. In fact, some feedback can make performance worse when it shifts attention away from the task and toward the person’s ego or self-image. Feedback works best when it focuses attention on the task, strategy, and future improvement rather than on personal judgment. That is a big lesson for leaders. Feedback should not feel like a character verdict. It should feel like a growth conversation.

Locke and Latham’s goal-setting research also reinforces this point. Goals and feedback work together. Clear goals help people know what they are aiming for, while feedback helps them understand whether they are making progress. In leadership development, this means feedback is strongest when linked to specific leadership goals, such as improving delegation, strengthening executive presence, building psychological safety, or coaching employees more effectively.

The Important Link - Feedback Fuels Self-Awareness and Builds Self-Efficacy

Developing self-awareness is one of the most important constructs of leadership development. Leaders who understand their strengths, weaknesses, emotions, habits, and impact are better equipped to lead others. They are also more confident and capable.  

But here is the catch: self-awareness is hard to build alone. We all have blind spots. We judge ourselves by our intentions, while others judge us by our behaviour. That gap can create misunderstandings, frustration, and missed opportunities. Feedback helps close the gap.

For example, a leader may think they are being efficient when they quickly interrupt a discussion to move things along. Their team may experience that same behaviour as dismissive. Without feedback, the leader may never realize the cost of the habit.

This is why 360-degree feedback has become such a common tool in leadership development. By gathering input from supervisors, peers, direct reports, and sometimes customers or stakeholders, leaders get a fuller picture of how they are experienced across different relationships.

Research on 360-degree feedback, including work by London and Smither, suggests that multi-source feedback can support leadership development when it is paired with reflection, coaching, and follow-up. The feedback alone is not magic. The development happens when leaders interpret it honestly, create goals, and practice new behaviours.

In plain English, feedback opens the door. Growth happens when the leader walks through it.

Hattie, J., & Timperley, H. (2007). The Power of Feedback. Review of Educational Research, 77(1), 81–112.

Kluger, A. N., & DeNisi, A. (1996). The effects of feedback interventions on performance: A historical review, a meta-analysis, and a preliminary feedback intervention theory. Psychological Bulletin, 119(2), 254–284.

Locke, E. A., & Latham, G. P. (2002). Building a practically useful theory of goal setting and task motivation. American Psychologist, 57(9), 705–717.

Ashford, S. J., & Cummings, L. L. (1983). Feedback as an individual resource: Personal strategies of creating information. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 32(3), 370–398.