The Power Of Feedback

Great leaders aren’t great because they’re perfect. They’re great because they learn fast. This is important as we approach the performance feedback season. And receiving feedback starts with the right mindset. Early in my career, I feared feedback. I overprepared, overexplained, and tried to prove I was doing things right. I thought feedback was a verdict. I was wrong. My growth took off only when I realized that progress is directly tied to how well you learn from feedback. Once I shifted from defending my past to improving my future, everything clicked. Today, I look forward to feedback. Not because it’s easy but because it shows me where to focus. That’s how I get better. Here is what works for me:  First, I don’t try to fix everything. Pick 1-2 themes. Focus beats overwhelm. Second, I share my feedback - all of it, with my team. It builds trust and shows that I am taking my growth seriously.  Third, I make it actionable. I have a plan on how I’ll improve this week, this month, this quarter. I then measure progress to iterate. Feedback isn’t something to survive. It is the breakfast for champions. How are you planning to grow with feedback this year?

"When people tell you something is wrong, they're usually right. When they tell you how to fix it, they're usually wrong" When renowned actor and comedian Bill Hader made this comment, he wasn't necessarily thinking about product development or engineering. Yet, this concept maps well onto those domains, serving as a valuable lesson for everyone from young product developers to seasoned engineers. At the heart of this idea is the recognition that feedback, particularly from users or customers, is an invaluable source of insight into problems. Users are highly adept at pointing out what's wrong or where pain exists. Their lived experience with a product or service often lends them a unique perspective, allowing them to identify issues that may not be immediately apparent to those who designed or built it. However, the translation of these problem areas into workable solutions is a skill set that resides more comfortably with the creators—the engineers and product developers. This is where the second part of Hader's observation rings true. When users propose solutions, they often reflect a personal perspective or a narrow view of the problem, unaware of technical complexities, overarching product strategy, or design constraints. We might cringe when we hear, "we just went to users and asked them what they wanted." This approach, although seemingly customer-centric, can lead to misguided efforts and misplaced resources. It risks being swayed by articulate or loud voices, and not by genuine, widespread needs. It's crucial to take a step back and reconsider how we approach and utilize feedback. Product teams and engineers should listen attentively to the problems users describe, then apply their professional knowledge and expertise to devise appropriate solutions. This ensures that we are addressing real issues in the most efficient and effective way, driving innovation rooted in user needs while retaining a firm grasp on feasibility and strategic alignment. This principle is perhaps more nuanced in the field of engineering. Unlike the arts, engineering leans towards empirical, often quantifiable solutions. There are standards, best practices, and established methodologies that provide guidelines. Still, the core concept remains—listen for the problem, and then employ your expertise to devise the solution. So, the next time you receive feedback, remember: focus on the issue at hand and leverage your own skills, knowledge, and creativity to find a solution. Doing so will allow you to turn insights into innovation, driving your product or project towards success. Feedback, when decoded correctly, can be one of the most powerful tools in your arsenal. #learning #productivity #product #engineering 

Good: → "Thanks for the feedback." Better: → "Thanks for pointing that out. I'll try to do better next time." Best: → "I appreciate you taking the time to provide constructive feedback on my presentation style. I understand your point about pacing & will consciously work on varying my speed in the future." Next level: → "I actively solicit feedback after each presentation. I've found that asking specific questions like, "What was the most impactful part of the presentation?" or "What could have been clearer?" yields the most actionable insights. I then meticulously track & analyze this feedback to identify patterns and areas for consistent improvement." Reality: → "Sometimes, feedback stings. It's easy to get defensive, especially when you're passionate about your work. The reality is, even the harshest feedback often contains a kernel of truth. The key is to separate the message from the delivery, focus on the intent, and identify actionable steps for growth. Remember, feedback is a gift, even when wrapped in prickly paper." Accepting feedback takes practice sometimes. Have you ever felt stung by a constructive feedback? Share your stories before.

 5 Uncomfortable Truths About Giving "Performance Feedback" (that no one tells you) After 15 years of leading teams and coaching executives, I've learned that giving meaningful feedback isn't about following a template or checking a box. Here are the hard truths I wish someone had told me earlier: 1.) Your feedback isn't about making yourself comfortable ↳That knot in your stomach before a tough conversation? It's a sign that you're about to say something that matters. I once delayed giving critical feedback to a high performer for weeks because I feared damaging our relationship. When I finally did, their response? "I wish you'd told me sooner." 2.) The "feedback sandwich" insults your employees' intelligence. ↳They see right through it, and it diminishes your message. Trust them with direct communication. Last month, a client told me they'd spent years decoding what their previous manager "really meant" beneath the compliment buffer. 3.) "Great job!" isn't feedback – it's a pat on the back ↳ Real feedback answers: "Great at what? Why did it matter? What specific impact did it have?" The difference transforms generic praise into a roadmap for repeatable success. 4.) The most crucial feedback often comes from your discomfort. ↳ When you think, "Maybe I'm overreacting" or "Perhaps it's not my place," that's often precisely what needs to be addressed. Those moments of hesitation often mask the most valuable insights. Be professional and tactful, but seize an opportunity and the signs you receive. 5.) Timing beats process every time. ↳ The best feedback system in the world can't match the power of addressing something at the moment. Waiting for quarterly reviews to discuss crucial performance issues is like waiting for New Year's to start eating healthy – it makes sense on paper but fails in practice. THE BOTTOM LINE: Meaningful feedback isn't about being fake, too nice or following a script. It's about being transparent, specific, and genuine – even when (especially when) it's uncomfortable. Vague feedback is worse than no feedback at all. If your message could apply to anyone, it probably helps no one. Make it direct, make it specific, make it count. Coaching can help; let's chat. | Follow Joshua Miller ➖ Like what you read but would like more? ☎ Book Your Coaching Discovery Session Today: https://lnkd.in/eKi5cCce #joshuamiller #executivecoaching #coaching #leadership #management #performancemanagement #culture #professionaldevelopment

If you’re building LLMs for reasoning or agentic behavior - understanding how to train them with reinforcement learning is becoming an essential skill. After pre-training, most LLMs go through post-training to align with human preferences - this is where RLHF (Reinforcement Learning with Human Feedback) comes in. It helps models become: → more helpful → less toxic → better at following instructions → more aligned to business goals But the field is moving beyond simple human feedback toward Reinforcement Learning with Verifiable Rewards: → structured, reliable reward signals → improved reasoning and multi-step behavior → more factual and controllable outputs Here’s how it works - and why methods like PPO, GRPO, and DPO matter. ✅ PPO (Proximal Policy Optimization) → The classic RLHF loop used widely today. → You collect preference labels → train a Reward Model → fine-tune the LLM with PPO. → PPO allows stable updates by constraining large policy shifts. → KL regularization ensures the model stays close to the base. Cycle: Policy → Output → Reward Model → Update → Repeat. ✅ GRPO (Group-based Reinforcement Policy Optimization) → A newer approach focused on group-level optimization. → You optimize over groups of outputs, not just individual samples. → Rewards and KL regularization are computed batch-wise → enabling more stable and scalable RLHF. → Useful when optimizing for complex reasoning and verifiable tasks. Example: teaching an LLM to follow logical proofs or multi-step reasoning chains accurately. ✅ DPO (Direct Preference Optimization) → The simplest and fastest method. → No separate reward model needed. → You directly optimize the policy to prefer outputs ranked better by humans. → DPO compares likelihood of preferred vs. rejected outputs and adjusts the model. Ideal when: → You have good preference data. → You want a lightweight, scalable fine-tuning method. → You don’t want full RL infra. 𝗦𝗼 𝗶𝗻 𝗮 𝗻𝘂𝘁𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗹: → PPO - classic RLHF with Reward Model + PPO optimizer. → GRPO - group-level optimization with verifiable rewards. → DPO - direct preference-based optimization, simple and fast. 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿❓ LLMs are moving from simple chatbots toward: → deeper reasoning → multi-step agents → long-context understanding → real-world tool use To get there, we need alignment with more verifiable reward signals - not just polite answers, but grounded, reliable, and accurate behavior. Methods like PPO, GRPO, and DPO are key tools in the evolving LLM training stack. ------ Share this with your network to spread the knowledge ♻️ Follow me (Aishwarya Srinivasan) for more AI educational content and insights to keep you up-to date about the AI/ML field.

Giving feedback is easy. Giving honest feedback consistently and constructively isn’t. But it’s one of the most underrated leadership tools we have. The following comment was made by a member of my team on one of my recent posts: "One of the most valuable lessons I learned from you was the importance of giving honest feedback without hesitation." It made me reflect and prompted me to reach out to Anshu Shukla, someone I’ve worked closely with, to understand how feedback had shaped her journey.  What she shared wasn’t just a compliment, it was a reminder of why feedback matters, and what it can unlock when given with the right intent. Here’s what stood out for me from her note: • “Watching how openly and honestly you shared your observations made a big difference. It encouraged me to be more receptive, understanding that honest feedback is a sign of genuine intent to help someone grow, not criticism.” • “You once told me: ‘You may not convert your weaknesses into strengths, but make sure your weaknesses don’t affect your strengths.’ That changed how I see myself and how I lead.” • “When you bluntly told me I was horrible at public speaking, it freaked me out. But it also pushed me to stop avoiding it and start improving.” What I appreciated most was this line: “Learning through mistakes is part of everyone’s journey, even at the top.” And it’s true. Feedback isn’t just about correcting, it’s about building self-awareness, creating safe spaces for growth, and nudging people to explore parts of themselves they may not want to confront. Three things I’ve learned about giving feedback: 1. Holding back giving tough feedback doesn't make you a nice person. It makes you a weak person and doesn't help the person you are trying to be nice to or protect.  2. Context and intent matter. Feedback works when it’s rooted in a shared goal, not ego. 3. It’s a two-way street. You have to be as open to hearing it as you are to giving it. Most people don’t fear feedback, they fear how it’ll be delivered. Change that, and you change how people grow. What’s the best piece of feedback you’ve received or given that shifted your perspective? I’d like to hear it. #Leadership #Feedback #GrowthMindset

In my 18 years at Amazon, I've seen more careers transformed by the next 2 weeks than by the other 50 weeks of the year combined. It's performance review season. Most people rush through it like a chore, seeing it as an interruption to their "real work." The smartest people I know do the opposite: they treat these upcoming weeks as their highest-leverage opportunity of the year. After handling over fifty feedback requests, self-reviews, and upward feedback 𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 for nearly two decades, I've learned this isn't just another corporate exercise. This is when careers pivot, accelerate, or stall. Your feedback directly impacts compensation, career trajectories, and professional growth. Your self-assessment frames how leadership views your entire year's work. This isn't busywork—it's career-defining work, but we treat it with as much enthusiasm as taking out trash. Here's how to make the most of it: 𝗚𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘄𝗼𝗻'𝘁 - Ask yourself: "What perspective am I uniquely positioned to share?" Everyone will comment on the obvious wins and challenges. Your job is to provide insights others miss, making your feedback instantly invaluable. 𝗗𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆 𝗯𝗶𝗮𝘀 - I keep a living document for every person I work with. When something feedback-worthy happens—good or challenging—it goes in immediately. No more scrambling to remember projects from months ago. This ensures specific, timely examples when needed. 𝗠𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳-𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 - Don't just list tasks—craft a narrative. Lead with behaviors that drove impact. Show your growth in handling complex situations, influencing across teams, and making difficult trade-offs. Demonstrate self-awareness by acknowledging areas where you're actively improving. 𝗙𝗼𝗿 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝘁𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗿 - They receive little feedback all year. Focus on how they help you succeed and specific ways they could support you better. Make it dense with information—this might be their only chance to learn how to serve their team better. 𝗢𝗻 𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 - The difference between criticism and valuable input is showing you genuinely want the other person to succeed. When that intention shines through, you don't need to walk on eggshells. Be specific about the behavior, its impact, and how it could improve. 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 - Good constructive feedback often feels like an insult at first. But here's the mindset shift that changed everything for me: feedback is a gift. It's direct guidance on improvement from those who work closest with you. When you feel that defensive instinct rise, pause and focus on understanding instead. Here's your challenge: This year, treat performance review season like the most important work you'll do. Because in terms of long-term impact on careers—both yours and others'—it just might be.

Constructive criticism is a powerful tool for growth, and knowing what went wrong can help me make the necessary adjustments for future opportunities. Receiving feedback helps me understand areas where I might have fallen short, whether it's in my skills, communication, or understanding of the role. Without that feedback, I'm left in the dark, unsure of what went wrong or what I need to focus on for personal development. It’s not just about hearing “no,” it’s about learning from the experience and improving myself for the next challenge. I value transparency, and a little insight into what could have been better would be incredibly helpful. When feedback is given, it shows that the company cares about the candidate’s growth, even if they aren’t the right fit for the role at the moment. It’s a small step that can make a big difference in how a candidate approaches their job search and career growth. Constructive feedback allows me to refine my skills, work on areas of weakness, and come back stronger for the next opportunity. It also enhances the candidate experience, leaving me with a positive impression of the company, even if I’m not selected for the role. Providing feedback doesn’t only benefit me as a candidate it also helps the company in the long run by fostering a positive and respectful interview process. When HR takes the time to guide candidates, it reflects well on the company’s culture and commitment to growth, both for its employees and potential hires. In the end, feedback creates a win-win situation for everyone involved, turning a rejection into an opportunity for self-improvement.

One of the most common questions I get asked, especially when I speak at tech events, is this: "How do I handle feedback and turn it into a tool for growth?" Feedback can feel tricky sometimes. I get it - you’re putting your work, your ideas, your skills out there, and then someone comes back and tells you it’s not quite right. It can sting, right? I’ve been there too. But here’s the thing - how you respond to feedback can either fuel your career growth or quietly hold you back. Let me explain. When you approach feedback with the wrong attitude, whether it’s defensiveness, dismissiveness, or even avoidance, you’re shutting the door to potential improvement. Imagine building a great product and ignoring feedback because, "It works fine for me!" It sounds ridiculous, but that’s exactly what a wrong attitude to feedback looks like. However, let me show you how I make feedback a tool for growth: 👉 I detach my ego from my work: I understand that sometimes comments on our work can get to us, but it’s a lot easier when I remind myself that my work or ideas are not me specifically. I consciously choose not to see feedback as an attack but as an opportunity to make my work better. 👉 I ask for clarification: Sometimes, people just want to talk or make vague comments, and I ensure that I filter things properly by asking the right questions. If the feedback isn’t clear, I ask for examples or specifics. I’ll say things like, “Can you show me what you mean?” or “What would you suggest as an improvement?” This helps me turn vague critiques into actionable insights. 👉 I create a feedback loop: After implementing feedback, I follow up by asking, “Does this solve the issue you pointed out?” This shows I’m proactive and allows me to openly communicate, making feedback even more effective. The right attitude to feedback can transform how you grow in your career. Use it as a tool to refine and elevate your work rather than something to fear. I hope this helps someone. See you in the future! Samuel Lasisi #linkedin #feedback #career #tech #uxdesign #uiuxdesign

How to process negative feedback without losing confidence Negative feedback especially from your manager can feel like a punch to the gut. Whether it’s about your work, behaviour, or performance, it’s hard not to take it personally. The emotions can be heavy—self-doubt, frustration, maybe even anger. Embarrassment: "Why didn’t I see this coming?" Hurt: "Am I not good enough?" Defensiveness: "They don’t understand my challenges!" These feelings are very human, and it's okay to feel them. The key is not letting them control how you respond. --- Instead of letting emotions linger or reacting impulsively, try: - Accept how you're feeling without judgment. Take a step back and breathe. - Feelings vs. Facts: This feedback is about your work, not your worth. - Try to see it objectively—what can you learn from it? --- Here’s what you can do when negative feedback hits: - Take time to process, don't rush responses. - Ask for clarification to understand specifics clearly. - Reflect, adapt, and create an improvement plan. It’s never easy to hear you’re falling short, but how you respond matters. With patience and self-reflection, feedback can become a powerful tool for growth. Also, you will be appreciated for your calmness under pressure and growth mindset - key leadership traits.