I must have looked comically out of place, lying on my back in the gym, attempting a new exercise that required moving opposite arms and legs in sync while balancing an exercise ball. It wasn’t going well. My trainer, Alex—a gentle yet muscle-bound coach—offered a few simple pointers that made a difference. With a bit more practice, I started to get the hang of it.

Alex’s timely hints were what I’d call short-cycle feedback: quick, targeted suggestions that helped me adjust in the moment. It got me thinking—sometimes, we all need a combination of short-cycle and long-cycle feedback to truly grow.

We all know feedback is the cornerstone of self-improvement, adaptability, and skill refinement. As leaders, seeking the right kind of feedback at the right time can significantly influence how we navigate challenges, grow, and achieve our potential. One way to optimize feedback is to strategically alternate between short cycle and long cycle approaches, each serving different aspects of leadership development. By understanding when to seek short-term corrective insights and when to prioritize periodic evaluation, we can better align feedback with their specific goals and personal growth needs.

Short Cycle Feedback: Fine-Tuning Incremental Actions

Short cycle feedback is characterized by its frequent, often immediate nature. Typically, it is sought after incremental actions, such as after a presentation, a team meeting, or a client interaction. This kind of feedback is immensely useful for developing new skills, habits, and behaviors, where quick, iterative learning allows for immediate course correction and affirmation of desired actions.

Why Short Cycle Feedback Matters

  • Rapid Skill Building: Frequent feedback supports skill building by helping us identify small, actionable changes that can immediately improve performance. When feedback is quickly available, we can practice, assess, and adjust our actions without significant time lapses, reinforcing the desired behavior until it becomes second nature.

  • Responsive Adjustments: In a rapidly changing work environment, short cycle feedback supports us to stay agile and responsive. For example, feedback received right after a project update can provide quick insights into team dynamics or clarity of communication, empowering us to address issues before they become entrenched.

  • Building Confidence: By confirming progress on a regular basis, short cycle feedback boosts confidence. Small wins and affirmations, delivered frequently, reinforce positive behavior, helping us feel more competent and motivated to continue learning. I recall trainer Alex’s small encouragements, such as “that looks better,” as building my confidence that I was making progress.

When to Seek Short Cycle Feedback

Short cycle feedback is beneficial during transitions or when new skills and behaviors are being developed. Early-stage leaders, those navigating a new role, or even seasoned leaders trying a new leadership style can benefit significantly. By frequently gathering insights, they create a feedback loop that supports faster adjustments and continued growth.

For instance, you might ask your team for immediate feedback after a brainstorming session to assess if everyone felt their ideas were valued or if the session had a collaborative tone. Over time, you can refine your facilitation approach, learning to create a more inclusive atmosphere where diverse ideas are welcomed.  In addition, you are role modeling coachability and a desire to improve.

Long Cycle Feedback: Sustaining and Refining Established Practices

While short cycle feedback is excellent for developing new skills, long cycle feedback focuses on sustaining and refining established behaviors. Long cycle feedback happens at set intervals, such as quarterly or annually, allowing for a more comprehensive view of performance and growth over time. This kind of feedback is invaluable when you have developed foundational skills but want to ensure they remain consistent, effective, and aligned with evolving goals.  As with routine exercises, sometimes we can drift from the idea movements and need a check to get back on track.

Why Long Cycle Feedback Matters

  • Reflecting on Broader Impact: Long cycle feedback encourages us to step back and examine our actions over a more extended period, enabling us to identify patterns and long-term trends. This type of feedback often addresses strategic skills, such as decision-making, vision setting, and team management.

  • Balancing Consistency and Innovation:   As established leaders, we can benefit from long cycle feedback because it allows us to assess our effectiveness over time. It provides a chance to confirm if we are maintaining consistency in our leadership style while also identifying areas where innovation and adaptation might be necessary.

  • Supporting Sustainable Change: By focusing on feedback over longer intervals, we can avoid the risk of being reactive. Instead, we can make thoughtful, sustainable adjustments that align with our broader vision and organizational objectives.

When to Seek Long Cycle Feedback

Long cycle feedback is particularly effective when we are focused on maintaining consistency in mature behaviors, assessing strategic contributions, or evaluating their long-term influence within an organization. For example, after a year of leading a department, we might seek feedback on our overall impact on team morale, productivity, and goal alignment. Such insights provide a holistic perspective on leadership effectiveness, ensuring that established practices remain impactful over time.

Balancing Short Cycle and Long Cycle Feedback

Leadership development is a dynamic process that benefits from both short cycle and long cycle feedback. Short cycle feedback drives immediate skill building, whereas long cycle feedback reinforces the consistency and refinement of long-standing practices. We should aim to balance both approaches to cultivate a well-rounded growth strategy.

For instance, a new manager might prioritize short cycle feedback initially to learn the ropes of leading team meetings and delegating tasks effectively. As their confidence and competence grow, they might shift to a long cycle approach, seeking feedback from their team every quarter to assess the broader impact of their leadership style.

However, striking the right balance requires self-awareness and intentionality. We need to identify the specific skills and behaviors they want to develop and match our feedback-seeking approach to those goals. This balance can transform feedback from a reactive tool to a proactive strategy for long-term growth and effectiveness.

Five Reflective Questions to Enhance Leadership Growth through Feedback

To determine where short cycle or long cycle feedback might best support your leadership journey, consider reflecting on these questions:

  • What specific skills or behaviors am I currently trying to develop, and how frequently do I need feedback to see progress?
  • Are there established practices in my leadership style that would benefit from a periodic check-in to ensure consistency and impact?
  • How open am I to making small, incremental changes, and do I have processes in place to act on short cycle feedback effectively?
  • What long-term leadership goals am I working toward, and what types of feedback will help me stay aligned with these objectives over time?
  • How can I incorporate a feedback loop that balances both short cycle and long cycle feedback to address my immediate learning needs and broader leadership goals?

An Exercise for Better Balance

As I think back to that gym session, awkwardly balancing and adjusting my movements under Alex’s guidance, I’m reminded that feedback—whether short or long cycle—is a lot like learning to move through life and leadership with balance. Alex’s gentle hints helped me make immediate adjustments, just as short-cycle feedback guides us in fine-tuning our day-to-day actions. Over time, as I practiced and reflected, those once-clumsy movements became smoother, embodying the long-cycle feedback that reinforces and refines our skills.

In leadership, both types of feedback are crucial. Short-cycle feedback provides those small, vital adjustments that help us grow more confident and responsive in the moment. Long-cycle feedback, meanwhile, lets us step back and see the larger picture, ensuring that our actions align with our broader goals. Just as in the gym, where every cue from Alex helped me learn the movement a little better, a balanced feedback strategy helps us continually improve and achieve our full potential as leaders.

So, as you think about your own growth as a coachable leader, remember: feedback, in all its forms, is a lifelong workout.  It’s about learning, practicing, and reflecting, whether on the gym floor or in the boardroom. Seek both short and long cycle feedback to keep yourself on track and stay open to the hints and insights that make you a stronger, more adaptive leader every day.