Whether you have an executive assistant or just a team of very capable humans trying their best not to Slack you after 6 p.m., here’s something simple that changes everything: feedback.
Yes, the thing everyone claims to love but avoids like an 8 a.m. Monday meeting.
You don’t need a 20-step system or a trust fall exercise. You just need to talk to your people. Regularly. Kindly. Clearly. It’s really that simple (and somehow still wildly underrated).
Why Feedback Gets You Further, Faster
No one’s a mind reader. Not your EA. Not your ops manager. Not your very eager intern who keeps asking if you “got a second.” People want to do great work, but they can only do that if they know what great looks like to you.
When you skip feedback, you’re basically handing someone a puzzle with no picture on the box. Will they figure it out eventually? Maybe. But it’ll take longer, feel more frustrating, and pieces might go mysteriously missing (like your time, energy, and patience).
Three Things You Can Try This Week
1. Pick a Weekly Feedback Habit
Choose your weapon: 10-minute chat, shared doc, Slack thread, voice memo while you’re walking the dog. Doesn’t matter. What matters is that it happens every week.
Keep it simple. Start with:
- One thing that worked well
- One thing to do differently
- One idea to try next week
This keeps the vibe casual, helpful, and clear. No one walks away wondering if they’re secretly in trouble.
2. Make Feedback Normal, Not a Panic Button
If feedback only shows up when something’s on fire, no one’s going to be excited to hear it. Set the tone early: “This is a normal part of how we work. Not a sign the world is ending.”
Say the quiet part out loud: “I’m not mean, and you’re not fragile. Let’s help each other get better.”
Also—ask for feedback, too. Your team sees how you work more closely than anyone. Ask them, “What’s one thing I could tweak that would make your job easier?” It’s a game-changer.
3. Be Specific, Not Vague
“You crushed it” is sweet, but not super helpful. “The deck you made was client-ready, easy to follow, and saved me three hours of pain” hits differently.
Same on the tough stuff. “You missed something” is vague and kind of scary. Try, “That meeting slipped through because the invite didn’t go out. Can we create a double-check system for those?”
The fresher the feedback, the more useful it is. Say it while it’s still warm.
A Few Bonus Tricks
- Shared “Win Wall”: Use a doc, a Slack channel, or even a Post-it-covered monitor to keep track of little wins each week. It keeps things balanced and reminds you both what’s going right.
- Voice Notes Are Magic: Especially when you’re on the go. Your tone, your context, your slight-but-lovable sarcasm—it all comes through. (And they’re way faster than typing.)
- Quarterly Reset: Every few months, zoom out. What’s working? What’s annoying? What are we pretending is fine but secretly kind of broken?
TL;DR: Feedback = Fuel
Good working relationships aren’t built on guesswork. They’re built on small moments of honest, clear feedback that compound over time.
So don’t overthink it. Don’t wait for the “right moment.” Say the thing. Thank the person. Keep it going.
It doesn’t need to be perfect. It just needs to be consistent.
And hey—if you’re already giving feedback this week? Go ahead and consider yourself officially crushing it.
