Mastering Feedback: 4 Strategies for New Leaders

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Every leader faces challenges when they start a new role, whether it's establishing credibility, managing up, or building strategic relationships. One of the most sensitive and critical challenges is giving feedback, which can feel like walking a tightrope. You haven't had the chance to build credibility with your new team, but you're under pressure to prove your value quickly. Moving too fast can lead to missteps while waiting too long, risks inaction, and meaningful opportunities lost.

Well, we're going to review four strategies in this article to help new leaders give feedback. It's by Marissa Fernandez. It's from the July 2025 issue of Harvard Business Review. Number one, assess the landscape. To navigate the tension between speed and context. New leaders can benefit from creating a very structured learning plan across four different domains, according to this article. The technical domain, interpersonal, cultural, and political.

And this framework, which was adapted from Michael Watkins' book, The First 90 Days, which I've used in at least two, maybe three situations where I'm, you know, new to a role or new to a team. Love this book. It helps leaders explore not just systems and roles, but also values, norms, what the informal power structures may be, any kind of hidden dynamics that you may overturn. Within each domain, it really prompts you to ask questions about the past, the present, and the future.

So in the past, what's led to this team's success? Or what's led to some of the setbacks that this team has faced? In the present, who's influential right now? What's the team's operating cadence? What's its rhythm feel like? And future, what changes are on the horizon, what barriers exist that might prevent our team from moving forward in the future.

Okay, so assessing the landscape, number one. Number two, fast-track trust. So to ensure your feedback is not just heard, but acted upon, you need to build a foundation of trust. Now, trust will naturally build over time, but exceptional leaders will take deliberate steps to fast track it. One strategy recommended in this article was inspired by Patrick Lencioni's book, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team.

Now, I've facilitated workshops on five dysfunctions for a very, very long time, love the concepts, out of this book, but it emphasizes that vulnerability is a core building block of trust. And you can practice this by sharing your greatest strengths with your team along with the potential downsides to those strengths. For example, if your strength is decisiveness, that can sometimes manifest as impatience.

If your strength is collaboration, where you're trying to get input from lots of other people. That can mask as slower decision-making. So sharing that with your team really helps them. When leaders acknowledge these inherent downsides of their strengths, they signal to the team that it's safe to be imperfect and it's safe to be really, transparently self-aware. By modeling openness and creating intentional moments of vulnerability, you're laying the groundwork for psychological safety.

We all know how important that is. Making future feedback more likely to be received with openness and goodwill.

Okay, that's number two, fast track trust. Number three, understand your team members' aspirations. In your first few weeks, schedule one-on-one meetings with your direct reports that are focused on just getting to know them. What are their aspirations? You know, in the short term, maybe the next one to two years, what are they looking to do in the next five to 10 years? Get their perspectives. What motivates them? What's their...

What kind of support do they need from you to make sure that they can thrive? Ask them about their best bosses and what those leaders did to help them succeed. These conversations lay the groundwork for trust and make future feedback easier to deliver as it can be positioned around helping them achieve their goals. Okay, the last thing the article recommends here is to just set aside your ego.

It's natural for new leaders to want to prove that they were the right hire. Unfortunately, this can lead to an ego-driven feedback trap, such as being overly blunt or aggressive to score quick wins, overly passive to avoid ruffling feathers. So you need to obviously strike the right balance here. Exceptional leaders understand that you can be clear and direct while showing care and respect. it's not an either or choice. And to strike this balance, structure your feedback intentionally.

Most leaders naturally skew toward either empathy or directness, and knowing your default lets you prepare in advance so that you can dial up the side that doesn't come as easily to you. Striking this balance sets the tone for a culture of honesty, accountability, and growth. Feedback then becomes a tool for development, not a threat to relationships.

Giving feedback when you're new to your role can feel like a minefield, but it's also an opportunity to establish your leadership foundation. By assessing the landscape, fast-tracking trust, understanding your team's aspirations, and setting aside your ego, you can navigate this challenge effectively. In doing so, you'll not only drive performance, but also create a team culture that's built on trust, candor, and mutual success. Essential ingredients for any leader's legacy.

Hope you enjoyed this article, and until next time we meet in the Manager Lab, do good work.