Featured in Communication Intelligence: Should You Inform Leaders About Criticisms From Their Teams?
Featured in Communication Intelligence: Sara Lobkovich contributed her expertise on the delicate act of sharing team feedback with leaders. Drawing from her consulting and coaching experience, she offers insight into how transparency and psychological safety can coexist—especially in environments where leadership dynamics are sensitive.
Do leaders need to be informed about the criticism being communicated about them?
“In today's workplace, it's better for a leader to hear tough feedback face to face from an employee than for people to feel like the only way to deliver it is anonymously online through channels like Glassdoor or social media,” says Sara Lobkovich, a non-practicing attorney and strategy executive at Red Currant Collective, a consultancy that works with organizations and people wired for purpose, progress and change.
“If you're the employee, it may be risky to share criticism with your leader, but again, it's better for them to hear it from you than to risk broader exposure.
“And for you (personally), if the feedback is about something really important, it's almost equivalent to self-abandonment to see something and not say something.
“The risk of harm to your own motivation may not be outweighed by the risk of a poor leader reaction.
“If a leader reacts poorly to justified and diplomatically-delivered feedback, that's important information for you to have as you decide whether-and-how to invest your time, energy and labor into the organization."
