👋 Hi, I’m Jeff. I write weekly about lessons I’ve learned leading product teams and working to lead well in chaotic environments, drawing on 25+ years of building.
1:1 exec coaching: I work with a small number of senior product leaders one-on-one as a coach. These are typically six-month engagements. If that’s you or someone you know, let’s talk.
⏱ Read time: 3 minutes
Hi there, I’m writing this note on a train to Paris for some city exploring my wife and I have been looking forward to. A three-hour train ride is also a creative place to write.
Clear, early feedback is one of the most valuable gifts a leader can give someone. The earlier this happens in a working relationship, the better. It sets a standard, establishes tone, and clarifies expectations. Most leaders wait too long to do this, and that can create downstream issues that are harder to fix.
Most performance review templates overdo rubrics, create unneeded complexity, and happen too late to matter. So I built a simpler approach. I call it Flash Feedback.
The Setup
Whenever I start a new role or I hire a new person, I tell my new report: we’ll do a flash feedback round 45–60 days in. Sometimes I mention this pre-hiring too, which communicates how seriously I take helping them succeed.
I ask them for six to eight names of colleagues they work closely with. These are the people I’ll email on their behalf to solicit feedback. I review the list of names and make some suggestions if needed. I go out of my way to make it feel safe to include someone where there may have been an early challenge or tough working relationship. (This is often the most valuable feedback to get.)
How It Works
I email everyone at once, BCC’d, and ask 3 questions:
What is Person X doing that is most useful and impactful?
What is Person X doing or missing that you think detracts from their ability to create impact?
What is your magic advice to Person X to help them be even better and more impactful in their role?
I ask them to reply directly to me, copy the 3 questions above, set a timer for 10 minutes and just write. The goal is bluntness instead of massaging the feedback.
I chase everyone down in email until I have all of the feedback. If necessary, I ask follow-up questions. (Sometimes I even follow up by phone.)
Next, I write up a two-page summary organized as follows:
TLDR: Overarching themes from the feedback and my own observations
Areas of strength (mapped to question 1): Themes and my own observations
Areas to consider for development (mapped to question 2): Themes and my own observations
Advice to create more impact (mapped to question 3): Themes and my own observations
The Part Most Leaders Skip
As I summarize key themes, I illustrate each with a few short quotes from the raw feedback. The real value here is your ability to curate and summarize what’s most important. It’s not simply transcribing exactly what you get.
Many managers and leaders skip this step or don’t do it well. For example, many times, teams themselves need to change and improve. That means you may get feedback that is valuable, but you may also get feedback that reflects an underperforming team being stretched by a new person. Your value is knowing the difference, and prioritizing where to focus. Your job is to construct a picture of reality that is helpful and moves the employee forward.
Once I’ve completed Flash Feedback, I send the document in advance and schedule 60 minutes to review it together. We dig into details and questions they may have, like where they should focus their attention first and in the coming months.
If you do even this, you’ll have given something many employees rarely get: early, clear, actionable feedback before patterns lock.
Most of all, you’ll have stepped outside the company voice and offered your own perspective. That’s the difference between being a manager and being a coach.
A rare gift indeed.
I’d love to hear how you approach early feedback — or whether you try this. Just hit reply, I read every one.