Mei manages a finance team at a national retailer. One of her analysts, Tyler, has submitted his third report containing avoidable errors. Mei is frustrated. She could point out every mistake, explain exactly how to fix them, and send him back to his desk. She has done that twice already.
This time she starts differently: "Before I tell you what I noticed, walk me through how you reviewed this before sending it." The conversation reveals a problem Mei had not seen and forces Tyler to examine his own process rather than simply wait for another correction.
- Mei's prior approach fixed the report but not the review process that produced it, so errors recur.
- Telling Tyler what is wrong keeps him a passive recipient of correction. Asking him to walk through his own review makes him diagnose the gap and own the fix.
- The breakdown is feedback as one-way correction rather than ongoing, reflection-based coaching.
What is corrective feedback without reflection?
Corrective feedback without reflection is one-way and directive. It tells someone what is wrong and what to do differently, but it does not invite them to think, interpret, or co-create next steps.
When this type of feedback happens, the leader does much of the talking and there is little to no exploring. The person receiving the feedback experiences diminished psychological safety and they may struggle to internalize the feedback. Over time the relationship may become strained and stagnate due to the many missed learning opportunities and stilted growth.
Feedback that includes reflection builds feedback literacy and the ability to self correct over time.
Stop Being the Bottleneck
Watch this to learn how leaders can stop being the bottleneck and start building a team that thinks, decides and owns the outcome.
Learn more about feedback and ownership
Building a Feedback Culture That Actually Sticks, Lou Evan for WorkHuman
Why most feedback cultures fail and what organizations can do differently to make feedback land.
TechclassMeasuring the Impact of Continuous Feedback on Employee Performance
Research on how ongoing developmental feedback affects performance, engagement, and growth over time.
Harvard Business ReviewThe Feedback Fallacy
Why most feedback does not work and what leaders can do instead to accelerate development.
Where do you see yourself or your team in these scenarios?
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