Introduction
Feedback sessions can either generate actionable insights that improve work or devolve into unfocused criticism that demoralizes everyone. Your role as facilitator is to structure the session, manage dynamics, and ensure feedback leads to clear next steps.
Why This Skill Matters
Poor feedback sessions waste time, create confusion about priorities, damage morale, and often result in changes that don't address core issues. Well-facilitated sessions generate clear, prioritized feedback that improves the work while maintaining team morale.
Core Principles
- Set clear objectives - What decisions need to be made?
- Provide context - What stage is this? What kind of feedback is useful?
- Structure the session - Framework for feedback
- Facilitate, don't defend - Your job is to extract useful feedback
- Capture everything - Take notes, organize, prioritize
- Close with clarity - What changes, what doesn't, and why
Good Examples
Framing a WIP review: "This is 60% complete—we're validating approach, not polishing details. Focus feedback on: Does this solve the right problem? Is anything missing? Ignore visual polish for now."
Structuring feedback: "Let's go section by section. For each, tell me: What's working? What's not? What questions do you have?"
Managing conflicting feedback: "I'm hearing different perspectives on navigation. Let me capture both views, then let's discuss trade-offs together."
Why It Works
Sets expectations, provides structure, ensures comprehensive coverage, manages conflicts constructively.
Tips
- Share work with context before session
- Guide attention: "Focus here first, then we'll discuss that"
- Clarify feedback: "When you say 'confusing,' what specifically?"
- Defer scope creep: "That's a great idea for phase 2—let me note it"
- Summarize and prioritize at end
- Follow up with written summary of changes you'll make
Connection to Other Skills
Combines managing meeting dynamics, asking clarifying questions, gentle pushback on out-of-scope feedback, reading the room to manage energy, and setting expectations about what's ready for feedback.
Action Items
- Create your standard feedback session structure
- Before sessions, provide context about what kind of feedback is useful
- During sessions: focus on capturing, not defending
- After sessions: send summary of what feedback you're acting on and why
- Practice managing conflicting feedback constructively