I struggle with being honest enough in my creative feedback and don't really have any mentors I can go to. I'll either be too gentle and wind up redoing parts of the creative myself, which my team (very rightly) hates or I'll say nothing and let subpar work go out the door. Any advice or even just favorite tricks or words or phrases? Books? I know it takes time but I want to get better at this ASAP because my team is amazing.

Your team will appreciate the honesty. Don’t speak as if you’re coming from on high, you’re collaborating with them and making the work even better together. Just share what you think is missing or a thought that could improve the work. Encourage your team to problem solve and also try something that’s not literally your feedback if they come up with a solution that could work better. If they do, strongly consider theirs over yours but no matter what thank them for pushing the work farther

Treat it like the conversation it’s meant to be. “What are your thoughts on this?” “Tell me about this decision:” and let them answer. You’ll better understand their approach and they’ll appreciate that, then you can then start in what your honest take is.

I went through this as well, but what I had to realize is whatever feedback I am giving back is not personal. You are not attacking the person as a creative. If your team wants to be successful and give the best possible work, they will respect your honesty. You don't want to have a reputation for having low quality work come from your team.

If your overall approach is being soft on the people and hard on the work, it becomes much more of a “we’re in this together” feeling — let’s beat up the work as a team. I like to point out something that’s working well or starting to get interesting, and then talk about what’s fighting that.

You have to first consider why you feel uncomfortable giving negative feedback. For most people, it comes from being a people pleaser. Yu have to let go of that and realize you cannot please everyone. As you have stated, your team gets upset with you when you change parts so you should just tell them how you feel anyway.

I have the opposite problem, as I’m very blunt and to the point. This makes me come off cold and sharp in tone. I’m working on softening my approach and delivery. I say this to say even as a CD, we are all still learning and growing as individuals. Understanding your short comings and working on them in turn makes you an even better leader.

They WANT you to help them make the work better. You’re teaching, guiding, elevating it with them. Feedback is good. Even if it’s harsh, it can be helpful. It’s not an attack or personal criticism. You are the fresh eyes, not the jerk. By killing an idea that you know is gonna waste time and come out blah, you’re giving them the time to find and focus on the idea that’s gonna work. You also don’t have to tell them why something sucks. Just focus on the ideas that are working, and give them direction on how to make it better, what to do next.

I love a feedback sandwich. The bread is positives and the inside is a negative. You don’t need to provide a solution - give them just enough direction so they can figure it out on their own.