Few leadership tools are as common as feedback – and few are so often overestimated. Many managers assume that feedback automatically improves performance. Research paints a more nuanced picture: feedback can boost performance considerably, but it can also make it worse. What matters is not whether feedback is given, but how.
Feedback does not work automatically
One of the best-known meta-analyses on the topic found that, while feedback improves performance on average, it led to worse results in about a third of the cases studied (Kluger & DeNisi, 1996). The reason: feedback that shifts attention away from the task and towards the person – such as “You’re just not thorough enough” – tends to trigger defensiveness rather than learning.
My own research adds a second point: there is no single characteristic that makes feedback good. Feedback becomes effective through the interplay of several characteristics (Zyberaj, 2024, 2026).
Six characteristics of effective feedback
Research points to six quality characteristics that shape how feedback is perceived, accepted and acted upon:
- Specific: good feedback names concrete behavior and its impact rather than passing general judgment. “The presentation lacked a clear recommendation at the end” helps more than “That wasn’t convincing.”
- Timely: the closer feedback is to the event, the easier it is to understand and use.
- Frequent: feedback should be part of everyday work, not a one-off event in the annual review.
- Nonthreatening: feedback experienced as an attack activates self-protection instead of development.
- Listening-based: asking for the other person’s view and genuinely listening substantially increases acceptance (Kluger et al., 2024).
- Psychologically safe: in a climate where mistakes can be discussed, feedback is more likely to be seen as support (Edmondson, 1999; London et al., 2023).
Focus: behavior and the future
Besides quality, focus matters. Feedback works best when it is behaviorally oriented and future-focused: it concerns what someone does and the next steps – not personality or dwelling on the past. A proven framework asks three questions: Where am I going? How am I going? Where to next (Hattie & Timperley, 2007)?
In an experimental study, I showed that coaching-oriented, developmental feedback leads to more favorable responses than purely negative feedback – and that employees’ mindset shapes how criticism is received (Zyberaj, 2025).
The Zyberaj Feedback Model
I have summarized these findings in the Zyberaj Feedback Model, which I developed in 2023 during my time as a lecturer and researcher at the University of Bamberg. It shows that effective feedback depends on both sides – the person giving it and the person receiving it – as well as on the context and the relationship between leader and employee.
A detailed description of the model can be found on the Research page.
© 2023 Dr. Jetmir Zyberaj. All rights reserved.
Practical tips for leaders
- Prepare: note one or two concrete observations, not a list of grievances.
- Say it! Voice feedback clearly instead of postponing it or wrapping it up until the message gets lost.
- Ask first, then tell: “How did you experience the situation?” opens the conversation.
- Look ahead: agree on a next step together.
- Follow up: a short check-in shows that feedback was meant seriously – and is a chance for positive feedback.
Conclusion
Feedback is one of the most effective development tools at work – when it is done well. Given in a specific, timely and listening way, within a psychologically safe climate, it strengthens performance, learning and the relationship between leaders and their teams.
Would you like to develop the feedback culture in your team, for example with a workshop for leaders? Learn more under Organizational Consulting & Diagnostics.
References
- Edmondson, A. (1999). Psychological safety and learning behavior in work teams. Administrative Science Quarterly, 44(2), 350–383. https://doi.org/10.2307/2666999
- Hattie, J., & Timperley, H. (2007). The power of feedback. Review of Educational Research, 77(1), 81–112. https://doi.org/10.3102/003465430298487
- Kluger, A. N., & DeNisi, A. (1996). The effects of feedback interventions on performance: A historical review, a meta-analysis, and a preliminary feedback intervention theory. Psychological Bulletin, 119(2), 254–284. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.119.2.254
- Kluger, A. N., Lehmann, M., Aguinis, H., Itzchakov, G., Gordoni, G., Zyberaj, J., et al. (2024). A meta-analytic systematic review and theory of the effects of perceived listening on work outcomes. Journal of Business and Psychology, 39, 295–344. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10869-023-09897-5
- London, M., Volmer, J., Zyberaj, J., & Kluger, A. N. (2023). Gaining feedback acceptance: Leader-member attachment style and psychological safety. Human Resource Management Review, 100953. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hrmr.2023.100953
- Zyberaj, J. (2024). Not one, two, or three, it takes several supervisory feedback characteristics for effective feedback: A latent profile analysis and experimental vignette. Cogent Business & Management, 11(1), 2357366. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2024.2357366
- Zyberaj, J. (2025). The effects of supervisory negative feedback and coaching on employees' responses to feedback: The moderating role of mindset. Human Resource Development Quarterly, 36(3), 243–262. https://doi.org/10.1002/hrdq.21553
- Zyberaj, J. (2026). Examining the relationship between supervisory feedback characteristics and employee feedback processing: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Current Psychology, 45(14), 1221. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-026-09323-y