The way leaders offer feedback to employees can define the level of team engagement and the company’s results. When misguided, the return can generate insecurity, demotivation and a drop in performance. Rather than functioning as a growth instrument, traditional feedback — focused only on pointing out errors — can become a wear factor.
To Alexandre Slivnik, specialist in service excellence and vice president of the Brazilian Association of Training and Development (ABTD), it’s time to rethink this model and adopt a culture that values positive behaviors. He says that the most common practice — pointing out only what needs to be corrected — can actually compromise the team’s engagement and impact the company’s results..
“The most effective feedback is the one that expands what already works well. When the leader recognizes positive behavior clearly, he increases the chances of this behavior being repeated. This generates confidence and strengthens the team”, he reveals.
Slivnik defends an approach known as feedforward , which consists of highlighting well-executed attitudes instead of focusing only on failures. For him, the recognition of good practices has more impact than isolated corrections. “It is important to observe the successes more than the mistakes. And, of course, this does not mean that you should not point out what needs to be improved.
positive reinforcement as a development strategy
A common example, according to the expert, is that of an employee who serves a customer well, but instead of receiving a compliment for good performance, he immediately hears a suggestion about what he could have done best. “This type of response reduces enthusiasm and devalues the effort. The ideal would be to highlight what worked – such as the way of communicating, the attentive look or the clarity in the explanation.
Slivnik points out that the goal is not to avoid corrective feedback, but to build an environment where recognition is the starting point. “When the employee constantly hears only what he needs to correct, the tendency is for him to retract. But if the positive feedback is more frequent, he will better absorb any suggestions for improvement”, he says.
encouragement to trust and the culture of recognition
Data from a survey conducted by Gallup indicates that employees who receive frequent recognition are twice as likely to describe their team as excellent and are up to three times more engaged at work. The same survey shows that leaders who offer regular and positive feedbacks contribute to a 24% increase in the profitability of companies.
For Slivnik, the secret lies in observing and reinforcing the attitudes that deserve to be valued. This creates a virtuous cycle: positive behaviors become a reference, and feedback is no longer a risk to becoming a powerful development tool. “When leadership uses feedback with awareness, empathy and strategy, it transforms the company’s climate. The enchantment begins at home, with the team being recognized for what it does best”, he concludes.
