You will be pleasantly surprised, because this is not just another boring book on leadership principles. The bestselling book, The Feedback Blueprint: Unlocking the Power of Constructive Insights, by Dr. Tenia Davis, is getting a lot of attention lately. It’s no wonder, when this easy to apply culmination of her life’s work comes complete with practical, easy to apply steps, checklists and templates.
It turns out it can be used by anyone from corporate employees, small businesses and startups to entrepreneurs and those just entering the workforce. According to the reader feedback and praise for this book, it may even help you in your personal relationships. Yes, personal relationships. I got to sit down with Dr. Davis to learn how this book exceeds expectations in so many ways.
As I meet with Davis, this accomplished and poised HR professional lights up with a contagious enthusiasm. She is passionate about the work she does, with a desire to improve outcomes and serve others. Currently she is the Chief People Officer at NORC at the University of Chicago. She earned an MBA from Loyola University of Chicago and a PhD from Benedictine University’s Center for Values-Driven Leadership, where her research focused on the impact of servant leadership on organizational culture. Her dedication to mentoring future leaders has been recognized by both the U.S. Senate and Congress, solidifying her as an influential force in the industry. She’s larger-than-life impressive and yet thoroughly humble and personable.
A celebrated speaker
Witnessing her share her passion and becoming absorbed in her charismatic personality, I can see why respected and prestigious organizations pay her to come and speak at their events, and I imagine her commanding the stage in a room of eager faces. With a speaker bio that includes addressing audiences of nearly 1000 people, to being a featured speaker at events such as the International Leadership Association (ILA) Conference, it’s no wonder she is sought after for her expertise. In fact, Women We Admire, named her in The Top 50 Women Chief Human Resource Officers of 2024. Her leadership experience extends to having managed high-stakes brands such as the Oprah Winfrey Show, Dr. Oz, The Oprah Winfrey Foundations, and the Oprah Winfrey Network, where she led large teams to consistently exceed performance goals while building a positive and inclusive work culture.
From research to writing
She tells me of her path to becoming an author, and how the research for her doctorate really shaped the ideas for both of her books. Her first book is called 8 Essential Steps to Build a Servant Leadership Culture. This award-winning book demonstrates that successful servant leadership culture fosters a more effective and compassionate leadership culture in any organization and even outlines a proven process for creating better leaders.
Research meets lived experience
Davis says, “I started the process during my PhD program, conducting research around how some leaders are more successful than others, focusing specifically on servant leadership at first.” This leadership concept intrigued Dr. Davis, particularly its influence on company culture and employee morale. Through investigating how “servant leaders” impact company culture, she noticed a pattern: these leaders didn’t just communicate with employees—they were invested in their success. This nuance inspired Dr. Davis to explore this behavior further.
With a huge smile spreading across her face, this is where Davis joyfully exclaims to me how much she loves research and how it has helped her achieve excellence. An avid reader, dedicated to professional development, she shares, “I truly love my craft. As an HR practitioner our role has expanded so much. We’re able to really be impactful. I want to be impactful and leave a good legacy of work to help other leaders thrive and do exceedingly well, and that has always been my passion. I wanted to put that on paper.” This led her further down the path of teasing out the behaviors that make for truly great leaders and a top notch culture in an organization.
Her superpower: feedback
Davis explains, “I’ve been told that this is one of my superpowers, the art of giving feedback. I had to think about that, and research further.” To address one of the greatest challenges leaders face—providing constructive feedback—Dr. Davis developed her second book The Feedback Blueprint. “How do I provide feedback in a way where they can hear me? How do I make those connections authentically?” she asked, addressing a common struggle for leaders. She then outlined a practical framework for feedback, using an existing model, “constructive insights”, that she knew worked. She took its “situation, behavior, impact, and next steps,” and expanded this with two crucial elements: self-awareness and reflection. According to Dr. Davis, these additions are vital because “without self-awareness, I can’t coach this leader…reflection is what enables leaders to pause, self-reflect, and add value.”
It turns out, feedback is not a one way street. In addition to providing leaders with tools, Dr. Davis wanted to support employees in receiving feedback—a frequently overlooked aspect of workplace communication. “Sometimes the manager will do their part, and the listener hasn’t been coached to know how to receive the information,” she observed, prompting her to adopt a dual approach in the book, with guidance for both sides of the feedback exchange.
Easy to apply
Dr. Davis’s aim was to create an accessible resource to truly make an impact across organizations. Instead of a dense academic manual, The Feedback Blueprint is “a simple 1, 2, 3 guide” filled with real-life stories, templates, and checklists, designed for immediate application. This includes the frequently dreaded Annual Performance Review conversation. “I wanted my book to be very intentional around what’s practical, what’s easy to apply,” she explained. Each chapter is crafted with actionable steps and aids, so whether readers are at the beginning or middle of the book, they can “know what to do next,” without becoming overwhelmed.
The book is designed to complement any organization’s leadership development curriculum, with Dr. Davis confirming, “The way I wrote this book, any organization could pick it up and insert some or all components of it into their leadership development curriculum.” This plug-and-play quality makes it adaptable for leaders at every level and ensures that employees, too, can engage with the material to foster constructive feedback relationships with their managers.
Company culture is evolving
Through The Feedback Blueprint, Dr. Davis offers leaders and employees alike a clear, actionable framework for building a stronger, more engaged workplace culture. With her insights, leaders are not only better equipped to guide and develop their teams but also to create the meaningful connections that today’s workforce increasingly seeks. According to Davis, this is key, because “the reality is that people are joining the culture, the environment, and they’re leaving because of leaders. It’s a challenge for organizations to really look at how they run their organizations. Do I have the right person in the right role?”
She points out how her book applies to today’s current workplace environment, where employees want to be valued and to have their leaders know something about them. They are seeking more from a job nowadays, it’s often part of their social community. Regarding the key differences in today’s workplace, she adds, “We have five generations in the workplace; we’ve never had that before. Different needs, different styles.”
Entrepreneurs and more?
One of the most dynamic features of this book is its versatility in application. Regarding its use for entrepreneurs, Dr. Davis points out, “Whether you have an employee of one or two, especially if it’s a small team, you want to know how to connect in, you want to know how to give feedback and you want to know how to build mobility to get to speed, get to the product, get to money. Entrepreneurs typically don’t have the luxury of time. Get your team up and running, have a good culture, because when a small organization has turnover, it’s very costly.”
For those about to set out into the workforce, this book can also be a tremendous head start. Davis states, “It teaches you what expectations to have in the workplace.” This gives a new employee a gauge to see what kind of leader they are dealing with, what sort of steps they are following, and then how to notice the feedback they give, the culture that leader creates.
Praise for the book
Davis tells me that some of the most satisfying praise for her book has been that readers wish they had had this earlier in their career, and that its techniques and principles can be applied to both professional and personal relationships. An excerpt from a review in the Literary Titan, reveals “The Feedback Blueprint by Tenia Davis is a meticulously crafted exploration of the transformative power of feedback, both in personal and professional spheres. . . Davis’ ability to blend research with clarity and accessibility stands out, making her work both scholarly and engaging. The structured yet fluid writing draws readers in, effortlessly building a comprehensive understanding of feedback’s multifaceted impact. She distills complex concepts into digestible insights, appealing to a broad audience, from academics to general readers.”
When it comes to any workplace, and maybe even for communicating within relationships in our personal lives, all signs point to The Feedback Blueprint as a must-read.
Find Dr. Tenia Davis and links to her books at theleadershipwise.com
Michelle Johnson excels at writing pieces that profile interesting and noteworthy people, events, and places. She is a freelance writer who covers stories including those related to lifestyle, news and entertainment.