Education Week - March 8, 2023 - 17

How to Handle Negative Feedback:
A Guide for Principals
You just heard concerns from your staff. What's next?
By Dwight Carter
S
ay it's the start of a new semester or the
end of the school year, and you've asked
your staff to complete an anonymous
survey to gather feedback about
your leadership. You've reviewed the
feedback, quantitative and qualitative,
and you receive a mix of praise and
extremely harsh responses. In particular, the qualitative
data cut deep.
A few years ago, as a building principal, I received
negative feedback on an end-of-the-year survey. I
then spent the entire summer reviewing, questioning,
stewing, and reflecting. I felt inadequate and wondered
if all my staff agreed with the criticism.
I was ashamed and embarrassed that the survey
results went out to all my fellow district and building
leaders. But instead of judging me harshly for the
negative comments, my supervisors reminded me that
all feedback is a gift you can use to strengthen your
leadership, influence, and relationships with others for
the good of your school or district. How you receive that
gift is up to you.
Now, six years later, I don't even remember the
details of the initial negative feedback, but I do
remember how my response to it strengthened me as
a leader. Here are the steps I would encourage others
to follow, when figuring out how to properly receive a
similar opportunity to grow:
1. Get coached up. I shared the results with
someone who would tell me the truth. That person
was my leadership coach, who I had hired earlier in the
school year to work with my building leadership team
and our athletic coaches. We worked well with him,
and I trusted his objectivity. He had our best interests
at heart and he took leadership seriously. He analyzed
the survey data and returned with some reflective
questions.
Together, we identified three common themes
from the feedback and listed examples of what staff
members shared. What we didn't do was get defensive
or question the validity of the comments. The
experiences my staff members shared were real, and
identifying the themes gave me a road map to creating
new interactions and experiences.
2. Acknowledge staff feedback in person.
Once we identified our themes, I prepared a
presentation slide deck to guide my thoughts during our
opening-day staff meeting. It might have been easier to
send an email, but email can only convey information,
while in-person communication goes both ways. The
best way to communicate with your staff, especially
when dealing with negative feedback, is to do it face to
face. There's something to be said about seeing their
faces, responding to their body language, and allowing
them to read your body language back. None of that can
be captured in an email.
As I shared each theme, I acknowledged their
perspectives, thanked them for their honesty, and
sincerely apologized for my shortcomings. I didn't
defend myself or explain away their survey responses. I
reiterated the importance of establishing psychological
safety, which comes from building trusting
relationships. It was vital for me to acknowledge how
I was still working to build that trust.
Even when only a small percentage of the staff
raises concerns, it is important to remember that many
others feel the same way but didn't take the time to
share it on the survey.
3. Share your plan-and follow through on it. I
acknowledged their feedback and developed a draft plan
for each common theme from the survey data. I aligned
my steps to our district strategic plan and asked for their
input. I also took as much time as possible to answer their
questions. I included monthly informal offsite checkin
meetings with each department, which we called
" Appy Hour. " We went to a local restaurant after school
to talk over appetizers. I paid for the appetizers to show
gratitude for their time and willingness to attend. Great
conversation happens when there's food involved! These
low-stress get-togethers allowed me to check the pulse of
the staff, answer questions, and listen to areas of concern.
Immediately following my back-to-school staff meeting,
several teachers thanked me for being vulnerable,
embracing the feedback, and presenting actionable steps
to move us forward. They appreciated being heard and
taken seriously.
As a result of the plan, I became more intentional about
being visible and more decisive. I communicated more
clearly and created informal listening sessions with each
department throughout the year. We grew as a staff, and I
grew as a leader.
CARTER is the director of student-support systems
at Eastland-Fairfield Career & Technical Schools in
Columbus, Ohio. Previously, he spent a decade as a
high school principal.
The Principal Is In In this biweekly column,
principals and other authorities on school
leadership offer timely and timeless advice
for their peers. Interested in contributing?
Email AskAPrincipal@educationweek.org.
EDUCATION WEEK | March 8, 2023 | www.edweek.org/opinion | 17
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Education Week - March 8, 2023

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