The Art of Effective Communication
Imagine a world without mirrors. How would you know if your tie is crooked or if you have a piece of salad stuck between your teeth? Feedback in professional relationships, plays exactly this role: it’s the mirror that reflects our behaviors, results, strengths… and areas for improvement. And yet, the word “feedback” still sends shivers down the spine of many employees or managers.
No wonder! Between the unspoken words, disguised criticism, and compliments as hollow as a Miss Universe speech, it’s easy to lose confidence. But good news: when used properly, feedback becomes a powerful lever for development, cohesion, and efficiency. Ready for a playful yet serious journey into the world of professional feedback? Fasten your seatbelt, we’re taking off!
1- Feedback: The Unloved Powerhouse
In many organizations, feedback still rhymes with judgment, evaluation, or even humiliation (yes, even with pastel-colored PowerPoints). However, its very etymology — “to feed back” — indicates a nourishing return. Feedback is not a guillotine; it’s a compass. It guides, aligns, and illuminates us.
And this applies not only to managers but also to employees. Feedback is not a one-way arrow! It’s an exchange, a game of adjustments, recognition, and mutual learning.
2- Why is Giving or Receiving Feedback So Difficult?
Three words: emotion, ego, and awkwardness.
- Emotion: Who likes hearing they messed up the Monday morning meeting? Or that their communication style is perceived as aggressive? Pride gets in the way, the fear of hurting someone rears its head, and bam! We avoid it. We delay. We downplay.
- Ego: Feedback can hurt where it matters most. We feel judged, attacked, or diminished. Yet good feedback should help us grow, not shrink.
- Awkwardness: Giving feedback isn’t innate. Telling someone “you’re too slow” or “you talk too much in meetings,” without context or kindness, risks breaking the relationship rather than strengthening it.
Fortunately, there are methods to turn these thorns into blossoms of cooperation.
3- The 5 Keys to Constructive Feedback in Professional Relationships
- Choose the right time and setting:
No feedback in the cafeteria or in the hallway between doors. Opt for a calm moment, a neutral space conducive to mutual listening. - Be specific, not vague:
“You’re doing a good job” is kind, but “Your meeting report was clear, concise, and allowed the team to act quickly” is even better. It’s concrete, encouraging, and reproducible. - Talk about behaviors, not people:
The difference between “you’re disorganized” and “I noticed the deadlines for project X weren’t met this week” is huge. The first labels, the second opens a dialogue. - Use the DESC or OSBD method (Observation – Feeling – Need – Request):
These approaches help structure feedback by staying factual, empathetic, and solution-oriented. Example with OSBD:
“When I saw the report was submitted three days late (Observation), I felt stressed (Feeling), because I need to be able to meet publication deadlines (Need). Could you notify me in advance next time if a deadline seems difficult to meet? (Request)” - Ask for feedback too!
There’s nothing more powerful than a manager who paves the way: “And how do you perceive my way of running meetings?” Feedback becomes an act of co-construction.
4- The Benefits of Feedback in a Team
Well-measured, regular, and sincere feedback is like superfood for company culture. It:
- Strengthens trust: Everyone knows where they stand, what’s expected of them, and what they can improve.
- Promotes learning: Mistakes become sources of progress, not shameful faults.
- Encourages recognition: Feedback isn’t just corrective! It’s also (and most importantly) an opportunity to say “well done,” “thank you,” and “keep it up!”
- Smooths communication: No more rumination, unspoken words, or frustration. It’s time for transparency, adjustment, and relational maturity.
5- Upward, Lateral, 360° Feedback: Everyone Gets Involved?
Traditionally, feedback was hierarchical: from the boss to the employee. But times are changing. Organizations seek more agility, transversal communication, and collective intelligence. As a result, feedback is now upward (from employee to manager), lateral (between colleagues), and even 360° (including clients, peers, partners…).
This cultural shift requires courage, kindness, and some level of acculturation. Yes, everyone can learn to give feedback — and to receive it, without raising a shield.
6- Feedback and Well-being at Work: A Winning Duo
Recent studies show that regular and benevolent feedback significantly increases job satisfaction, engagement, and performance (no, it’s not just an HR intuition). An employee who feels seen, heard, and encouraged… is an employee who stays motivated, invested, and loyal.
On the managerial side, it’s a lever for quick and smooth adjustments. Instead of waiting for the annual review (which is often too late), timely feedback allows you to correct course as soon as a deviation appears.
7- And What About When Feedback Becomes Poison?
Be careful: feedback can also be a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Disguised as “sincerity,” it can be used to settle scores, assert dominance, or release personal frustration. This is what we call toxic feedback. The kind that judges, humiliates, and blames. The kind that destroys more than it builds.
If you’re faced with this kind of practice, set clear boundaries. And if you’re tempted to go down this path, take a breath… and reread the five keys above.
Conclusion (and With a Smile)
Feedback in professional relationships is simultaneously a growth tool ,a team cement, and a lighthouse in the storm.It is like dark chocolate: intense, sometimes bitter, but full of virtues when properly balanced.
So, dare. Ask for feedback. Give feedback. Train yourself. Practice. And most importantly, never forget that behind every piece of feedback, there is a human being, with their doubts, their impulses, and their desire to improve.
Sources :
- The Power of Feedback – Harvard Business Review
- Why Feedback Rarely Does What It’s Meant To – The Atlantic
- Constructive Feedback and Employee Performance – Journal of Organizational Behavior
- Feedback Culture and Employee Engagement – Forbes
- Receiving Feedback: Psychological Safety Matters – MIT Sloan Management Review
