What do you do if your team members are not motivated by your feedback?

Being honest in giving feedback, listening and receiving feedback from them through the year, and balancing it with the goals of the organization and personal goals and aspirations is crucial. Not everyone aspires to be at the Top of the corporate ladder, life is way beyond that for many. Often, personal challenges are not factored in, and that is essential for a long run. It is also likely that a strong nudge is needed for a few, who have the potential, but are stuck in their comfort zones. A/Any feedback is essentially a powerful tool to help the employee grow, across dimensions. And that needs a caring leader, to do so.

Take the time to understand each team member's preferred communication style and motivational triggers. Tailor your feedback approach to align with individual preferences, whether it's providing praise publicly or offering constructive criticism privately.

Your goal is to keep your team members motivated and enthusiastic about their work. It's important to strike a balance between extrinsic motivators, such as pay raises and changes to working conditions, and intrinsic motivators, like assigning people tasks that they enjoy. First, analyze your own assumptions about your people. It's important to remember that they will likely respond more positively when you use a participatory style of management, where they have responsibility and can make their own decisions. Everyone is different, so tailor your motivational approach to each team member. There are many strategies and tools that you can use but, the more you know and understand each individual, the more effective your efforts will be...

Adopt the Situation-Behavior-Impact (SBI) model for delivering feedback, which involves describing the specific situation, the observed behavior, and the impact it had. This structured approach helps ensure that feedback is objective, actionable, and focused on behavior rather than personality.

Strive to provide a balance of positive reinforcement and constructive criticism in your feedback. Acknowledge and celebrate successes and achievements to reinforce desired behaviors, while also addressing areas for improvement with clarity and empathy.

Provide feedback in a timely manner, ideally soon after the observed behavior or performance. Consistency is key to building trust and credibility with your team members, so make an effort to provide feedback regularly and consistently.

Follow up on previous feedback discussions to track progress and offer ongoing support and guidance. Offer resources, training, or mentorship to help team members address areas where they may be struggling and build on their strengths.

Feedback should be Constructive in nature. You as a leader should know your team members well and provide them feedback in the way which you feel they will take it in a good way. Feedback should be a blend of positive and negative , try not to compare the individual with anyone else in team while giving feedback- this may ring wrong bell in their mind which in turn leads to low motivation level. Weaknesses should never be given in public. Lead as an example, for example if you know that you have to improve on your communication but have to give same feedback to someone in team then give real examples, play diplomatic and don’t show yourself as expert in communication instead give idea what all you are doing to improve this.

Foster a culture of open communication and psychological safety within your team, where team members feel comfortable sharing feedback and discussing areas for improvement. Encourage self-reflection and self-assessment among team members, empowering them to take ownership of their development and growth. Be receptive to feedback from your team members as well, demonstrating humility and a willingness to learn and grow as a leader.

One another thing I proposed and implement in programs where possible is, asking the team members to act as Leads, and vice versa for a temporary period, so they understand the complexities, challenges, difficulties and expectations of everyone and the whole program. When people experience first hand these things, there is a greater chance they understand the feedback at different stages.