Ralph Lauren CEO Patrice Louvet doesn't sandwich his criticism between two compliments, he says.

Instead, he gets his point across in one of two ways. For smaller issues, he starts with a person's strengths and then mentions areas of improvement, and for bigger ones, he jumps right into direct, constructive feedback — skipping the positives altogether, he told LinkedIn's "This Is Working" podcast in an episode that published on April 10.

"It depends on the extent of the negative feedback," said Louvet, 60. "If there's a big issue, then you've got to start with the issue and go straight on. And sometimes people need to be hit by a two-by-four across the forehead because it doesn't always register."

Those big issues might include regularly missing crucial deadlines or presenting incorrect data. Smaller issues are more like being late to meetings or having too many typos in your emails — problems that may not warrant a formal sit-down, but still merit attention.

"If it's a thing that the individual needs to work on that's not defining or completely disruptive, then I think start with the strength that you see and then provide the feedback through the lens that these are opportunities for development," said Louvet, who's led the fashion brand since 2017.

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Whenever you need to give negative feedback, Wharton psychologist Adam Grant recommends bosses use one sentence, he told CNBC Make It in December 2023: "I'm giving you these comments because I have very high expectations and I know that you can reach them."

"The most important communication of information in your feedback happens before you give the content of the feedback," Grant said, adding that "it's surprisingly easy to hear a hard truth when it comes from someone who believes in your potential and cares about your success."

Compliment sandwiches aren't effective, said Grant: The compliments can feel insincere, or like they're just there to "soften the blow." The inverse can also happen — an employee may focus too much on the praise to take the criticism seriously.

Effective feedback contributes to employee productivity and job satisfaction: Workers who get meaningful feedback at work are typically more engaged at work, according to Gallup data published in May 2023.

Louvet said he developed his approach to feedback over multiple decades, including 28 years at Procter & Gamble, where he held multiple executive positions. Delivering clarity and encouragement helps the feedback resonate more effectively, he said.

"I've always been given great advice at Proctor & Gamble, which is you have to spend the majority of your time on your strengths," said Louvet. "So 80% of time on your strengths, 20% of your time on your opportunities. If you spend all of your time on your opportunities, you're not going to be that effective."

Correction: This story has been updated to reflect that Patrice Louvet is age 60, at the time of publishing.

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