A featured contribution from Leadership Perspectives: a curated forum reserved for leaders nominated by our subscribers and vetted by the Construction Tech Review Advisory Board.
Area Commercial HR Partner for Operations of BAT (British American Tobacco) – Area APMEA South
The Power of Timely Feedback: A Leadership Lesson That Changed My Perspective
Kemala Hayati
In an exclusive interview with APAC CIO outlook, she shared invaluable insights on the power of timely feedback as a leadership culture that transforms performance, builds trust, and equips teams for growth.
Timely Feedback Power
I still remember the day I received what I call “ugly” feedback about my leadership skills. It came from my direct manager at the end of the year - without warning. Why do I call it ugly? Because it wasn’t just about the content; it was about the timing and the approach.
My manager told me that my team felt I focused only on performance without understanding their obstacles, that I constantly challenged them, and that I never seemed satisfied with their results. Hearing this at year-end felt unfair. Why? Because I had no chance to address these concerns earlier. My manager admitted she had heard these issues for quite some time, yet this was the first time I was hearing about them.
The strongest lesson I learned - and now hold as a personal leadership value - is this: feedback should never wait until the year-end review.
Why Waiting is Risky
When feedback is delayed, it becomes a surprise rather than a tool for growth. At that time, we never had our monthly check-ins. It was my first time managing a team of seven, and my manager had joined the organization only a month after I stepped into the role. The feedback was delivered as a one-way conversation. There was no dialogue, no curiosity about what was really happening, and no opportunity for me to share my perspective.
This experience taught me that feedback is not just about what you say - it’s about when and how you say it.
Feedback Is a Skill, Not an Instinct
Growing up in HR, I’ve had the privilege to learn deeply about feedback - not just for myself, but also to educate
Feedback is not an event but a culture, delivered timely and with dialogue, it transforms performance, builds trust, and strengthens leadership at every level.
What I Needed as a First-Time Manager
As a new manager that time, I needed guidance to develop my leadership skills. I needed feedback from mentors or coaches and the chance to implement it daily. Monthly checkins would have helped me track progress - not just on performance, but on leadership development. These sessions could have identified weaknesses early and turned them into actionable plans immediately.
Why immediately? Because timing is everything. If feedback comes at year-end, I might feel I’ve been doing well all along - only to be blindsided later. Meanwhile, my team, lacking feedback skills themselves, would feel frustrated and underappreciated.
Regular check-ins also build trust and openness. Issues can be discussed honestly and transparently, with good intentions to solve them together - between me, my team, and my manager as a facilitator.
Receiving Feedback: The Human Side
I believe feedback should always come with good intentions - to make us better. But as humans, we’re not naturally wired to embrace “bad” news about ourselves. Feedback often feels like a judgment: You’re not good enough. You’ve done it wrong. You’ve failed.
For me, this muscle is even harder to train. To receive feedback well, you need to know yourself better. Self-awareness helps you control your reactions and choose how you respond to every situation. That’s why learning to receive feedback is just as critical as giving it. It requires humility, curiosity, and the ability to separate the message from the emotion.
Encouraging my team to give feedback to me has become a live learning session - not only for me to enhance my receiving skills but also for them to develop theirs. This creates a culture where feedback flows in all directions.
To sum up, feedback is not an event - it’s a culture. It’s a leadership muscle we all need to train. My experience taught me that timely, structured feedback can transform not only performance but also relationships and trust within a team. And the ultimate goal? To build a high-performing team equipped with giving-receiving feedback skill.
