How to give feedback without killing morale

Instilling a culture of free-flowing feedback between team members is difficult but not impossible.

By Mathias Meyer

September 25, 2024

I’d like to improve the feedback system in my team. Currently, the team only receives constructive or proactive feedback from me, usually in the form of a “shit sandwich” – one negative note wrapped by two positives. I package up feedback from the team and myself, so there’s also no direct feedback line between my team members. I know we could do more to build a feedback protocol, but I have some concerns.

How do I know feedback won’t demoralize the team, or if will they even accept and act on it?

— Iya

Hi Iya,

Creating an open flow of feedback, where you don’t need to guide every conversation, can be difficult in many organizations.

Join LeadDev.com for free to access this content

Create an account to access our free engineering leadership content, free online events and to receive our weekly email newsletter. We will also keep you up to date with LeadDev events.

We have linked your account and just need a few more details to complete your registration:

First name Last name Job title Company Country