Feedback is called so, as it has to be Fed Back

 Feedback is difficult to give, but iits necessary to see your people grow.

If you are a true well-wisher for someone, you will give honest feedback to that person. Lets see what this story brings to light. There was once a proud little frog, who grew amongst his group of friends in a pond. He often looked at his reflection in the water, the angle of the sun rays made his reflection to appear extra large at times. The larger the reflection, more powerful the frog would feel. He often told his group of frogs that he was the biggest frog ever. None of his friends would correct him and tell him that he was just perceiving one side of the story. 

One day an Ox came to the banks of the pond. Looking at the huge Ox the frog felt small. He again looked at his reflection which made him feel proud and big, however not as big as the Ox. So the frog took deep puffs and swelled up. To compete with the Ox he swelled up further. Till the frog could swell no further. He soon burst. If he would have received the right feedback from his friends, it would have been a reality check for him much earlier. 

With review season settling in and workplaces having review discussions, there are many challenges which people face to give feedback. Particularly giving upward feedback is scary for many. 

Many different kinds of talent working in the team, it becomes difficult for the team leader to manage them all. Even understanding each individual as his character, personality and working style takes time. However it is the skill of the leader to do so. Recognise the talent and potential of each and assign work accordingly. Some are fiery and always on the go, some are the quiet ones, some are mid way quiet and talkitive both balanced. As these characters are described I am sure you can place the people in your team, more or less, in one category or the other. Giving opportunity to all by creating room for talks and openness is important aspect of a leader's job.

Leaders have their observations of behaviour which they want their team to change, yet I have rarely seen them give an honest feedback. The question that always gets asked is 'would it be right to point out?' Because of that leaders don't speak to their teams and then surprise surprise, their reviews reflect poor scores and the employee feels unfair, partial and quits. 

There is a lot beneath the surface when daily interactions take place. We are machines that make interpretations and give meaning to the behaviours we observe. However, only a frequent and healthy two way interaction will keep us on the same page. 

It is also unfair to deprive someone from feedback, as much as we think how will the other person feel on receiving a strong and straight feedback.

In the long run, having an open conversation will help the employee improve and get retained too.