“People reported to me that they had difficulties working with you.”

These were the words a manager spoke to me early in my career—and I haven’t forgotten them. I was very shocked to hear the feedback, as no one approached me about any grievances they had with me. Naturally, I wanted to know who said it and in what context. But the manager refused to give me many details. Was the feedback constructive? Not really. Was it useful? Absolutely not.

Giving better feedback helps you and your teams improve their collaboration and deliver better project outcomes. But all feedback is not created equally. You need to set the conditions for success.

First, feedback shouldn’t feel like top-down decision-making. There has to buy-in. So it’s important to talk through expectations with team members: How often will you gather feedback? How will you communicate it?

The conditions in which the message is conveyed also matters, especially for negative feedback. If it’s a face-to-face meeting, book a room to create a confidential and comfortable environment to engage in a conversation. The feedback must also be recent. Regular feedback lets team members apply lessons learned on the fly. And there must be follow-up: If action items are outlined but no action is taken, credibility in the feedback process is lost and motivation decreases. As a leader, your role is to ensure constructive feedback is turned into reality.

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