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When a new senior executive steps into a company, the goals are usually to drive growth, strengthen teams and make a positive impact. Yet, they can find themselves in an echo chamber if teams are reluctant to share their honest opinions about the leader’s style or decision-making. Without that candid input, even the most capable executives risk missing blind spots that could negatively affect morale, alignment and performance. Below, members of Forbes Coaches Council share smart ways for new leaders to invite the unfiltered feedback they need to accelerate growth, boost trust and set the tone for a transparent, high-performing culture. Encourage Employees To Call You Out Leaders should be direct but kind, even when delivering tough messages. As a new leader, I told others to expect this, and to call me out if I wasn’t kind—and I thanked them for all the feedback. Modeling this approach builds trust and invites candid, two-way conversations that strengthen team culture. - Penny Marion, Resilience Career Coaching LLC Solicit Rankings Of Key Leadership Practices Gain honest feedback by listing 10 key leadership practices (for example, builds trust, clarifies roles, gives feedback and so on) and asking your team members to rank how well you embody them, from strongest to weakest. The forced ranking limits flattery and reveals clear themes while demonstrating your openness to feedback and a growth mindset. - Sundae Schneider-Bean, Sundae Schneider-Bean GmbH Host One-On-One And Small-Group Listening Sessions New executives earn honest feedback by listening early and often. Start with one-on-one listening tours and small group lunches to hear diverse perspectives. Summarize what you’ve learned, share what you’ll act on and revisit progress regularly. When people see transparency and follow-through, candor shifts from risk to routine and trust takes root quickly. - Kerri Sutey, Sutey Coaching & Consulting LLC Forbes Coaches Council is an invitation-only community for leading business and career coaches. Do I qualify? Interview Direct Reports And Skip-Level Employees Early on, most people are reluctant to give feedback. However, new executives have to really understand the business and the people to be successful. Start with direct reports and skip-level interviews to gain their insights. Then, consider doing what one leader I worked with did: Shadow the support team and find out what both the customers and the employees already know. - Bill Berman, Ph.D., ABPP, Berman Leadership Development Ask Teams To Share What You’re Missing Vulnerability can be a bridge to building trust and candor. For example, ask teams to break down a specific scenario and say, “What am I missing?” Asking for feedback, honoring their perspectives and summarizing what you heard—and, more importantly, acting on it—are ways to signal to your team you welcome their insight, in addition to traditional approaches such as 360 surveys, one-on-ones and coaching. - Keli Frazier-Cox, Promote Leaders, LLC Invite (And Act On) Candid Conversation A new senior executive must acknowledge the past and commit to a new vision, with expectations of creating a safe environment. Meet with each direct report and have candid conversations, asking for honest feedback. Provide a summary of positive and negative comments to all. Invite small groups to propose changes that the leader sponsors. Demonstrate taking action on ideas coming from honest feedback. - Mark Samuel, IMPAQ Corporation Hire An HR Resource To Facilitate Leader Assimilation Critical feedback in the early days is essential. A leader can gather it by utilizing an HR resource to facilitate a “new leader assimilation” meeting. This meeting is designed to share a leader’s background, work style and vision for the team. A facilitator, without the leader, then asks the team what the leader should start, stop and continue doing as they lead the team in pursuit of the vision. - Jill Helmer, Jill Helmer Consulting Invite The Team To Discuss Ideas And Strategies A new-to-the-company leader should build trust and connection with their team before introducing change or ideas for improvement. Learn from the team before teaching them. Invite them into a conversation about ideas and strategies. This enables you to build trust, foster buy-in and establish a platform for collaborative work that promotes quality feedback and team success. - Candice Gottlieb-Clark, Dynamic Team Solutions Foster Psychological Safety In Smaller Settings As a new leader, it’s important to create the conditions for honest feedback; it won’t just appear. Build psychological safety in smaller settings. Ask clear questions. Listen. That’s how trust is built. And when you create an environment where you’re willing to learn and get better, your team will want to do the same. - Jessica Hill Holm, Hill Holm Coaching & Consulting Seek Out 360 Feedback In The Integration Process In my experience, many new senior executives ask for 360 feedback from their team (and actually their whole “system”) as a critical step in their integration. Those who are not open to this information risk having to try and fix relationships down the road or realign around important strategic initiatives. Great leaders have this willingness to learn and grow. - Lisa Walsh, Beacon Executive Coaching Share Your Failures And Celebrate Others’ Successes Lead by example with vulnerability. Share your failures openly. When you’re wrong, admit it publicly. When someone else is right, spotlight them immediately. This creates psychological safety; people will speak up when they see their leader model the honesty they’re asking for. You can facilitate this over a one-on-one lunch meeting to ease the conversation and show your appreciation. - Aurelien Mangano, DevelUpLeaders Ask Why You Aren’t Receiving Honest Feedback Be vulnerable and ask why you aren’t getting honest feedback, and be prepared to hear the responses. Create a safe space where others can provide insight, knowing they will not be judged or retaliated against for being honest. - Michelle Martin Bonner, AMMEMPOWERMENT Be Open And Vulnerable To foster a culture of honesty and transparency, first understand that leadership is not about being in charge; it’s about taking care of those in your charge. A new leader needs to create an environment where team members feel safe to express their thoughts and insights. This begins with leaders being vulnerable and open themselves. - Brian Bacon, Oxford Leadership Group Talk One-On-One To Build A Sense Of Safety Skip the group asks. Go one-on-one. Ask specific questions like, “What’s one thing I could be doing differently to make your job easier?” Then pause—and actually listen. People speak truth in safety, not in meetings. The faster you remove ego, the faster you build trust—and trust is the only real channel for honest feedback. - Dr. Aman Alzubier, dramanalzubier.com Make Feedback A Standing Agenda Item A senior executive can’t demand candor; they must de-risk it. The most credible leaders make feedback a standing agenda item, not a rare event. By asking peers and direct reports, “Where might my approach be missing the mark?”—and demonstrating visible follow-through—they turn feedback into a leadership operating system. This matters because boards and teams calibrate to behavior, not intent. - David Ribott, Ribott Partners Ask Specific Questions Don’t ask, “How am I doing?” Ask, “What grade would you give me? Why? And how can I improve it?” Ask, “What do others want or need that they are not telling me?” And create a “plus/delta” culture in your conversations: “Tell me one thing I am doing well. Tell me one thing I need to do better.” It is up to the leader to create a safe climate for feedback and reward it. - Steven Dealph, Dealph Consulting Partners Make Time To Understand Your People To succeed, leaders like you need unfiltered insights. The path to honest feedback starts with your commitment to listen. As a leader, you must intentionally make time to understand your company’s culture and, most importantly, its people. When your team feels your genuine interest and knows you’re creating a safe space for their voices, they will start sharing authentic, invaluable insights. - Sohee Jun, S.J. Consulting, LLC Gain Insight Into Underlying Issues With Data Data-driven leadership and team and culture development provide data, while meaningful conversation based on it will give leaders insights to reveal the root causes of underlying issues. Once they have that, they can co-create the solution instead of solving problems that are not the real challenges or optimizing something that should not exist anymore. Guessing is not an option. - Csaba Toth, ICQ Global Gain Trust Through Transparency And Vision
