In most organizations, the importance of feedback is not questioned. We want more of it, and we hope it will support learning, strengthen collaboration, and help people grow. Many organizations have introduced different models, performance and development discussions, and surveys to support giving and receiving feedback.
Yet both giving and receiving feedback are often experienced as difficult. Perhaps because a strong feedback culture requires more than technical skills. It requires us to pause and examine how we actually perceive each other’s performance, what we dare to say out loud, and how we respond when our own self-perception is challenged.
Do We See the Situation – or Our Own Interpretation?
When we evaluate someone else’s actions, we never do so from a completely neutral standpoint. Our own experiences, expectations, and preferences act as filters. One person may value quick decision-making, while another sees careful consideration as a strength.
One of the fundamental principles of high-quality feedback is therefore to distinguish between observation and interpretation. Before giving feedback, you might ask yourself: What have I actually observed, and what is my own interpretation of it?
Interpretation: “You’re not a good listener.”
Observation: “I noticed that several times you responded before the other person had finished speaking.”
From Feedback to Feedforward
Feedback gives us information, but coaching helps us do something with that information. A coaching approach shifts the focus from evaluation towards reflection, ownership, and action.
This is where Marshall Goldsmith’s concept of Feedforward can be useful. Instead of getting stuck on what went wrong, we turn our attention towards what comes next:
“What do you notice yourself in this situation?”
“What would you like to try doing differently next time?”
When employees have the opportunity to define their own next step, it creates a very different level of commitment than when the solution is simply handed to them.
Without Psychological Safety, the Most Important Feedback Remains Unspoken
No feedback model will help if people do not feel safe enough to use it. This is where Amy Edmondson’s research on psychological safety becomes particularly relevant. If people believe that honesty could affect their position or relationships, important observations may never surface.
Perhaps the real test of a feedback culture is not how much feedback is given, but who people dare to give it to. Can an employee give feedback to their manager? Can a leadership team acknowledge when something is not working?
Psychological safety does not mean that everything should feel comfortable. It means that difficult conversations can be held constructively.
A Leader’s Response Shapes the Culture
A leader’s role is not only to give good feedback, but also to set an example in how they receive it.
How you respond when you hear something you would rather not hear – whether you become defensive or manage to remain curious even when the feedback challenges you – tells your team more about the culture than any set of guidelines ever could.
A Few Questions for Reflection
- Is the feedback I give based on observations or on my own interpretations?
- Do I ask for the other person’s perspective before sharing my own?
- In our organization, do we dare to give feedback upwards as well?
- How do I respond to feedback that challenges me?
A strong feedback culture is rarely built through a single training session or feedback model. It is created in everyday interactions – in how we ask, listen, challenge, and respond.
This is where coaching can play an important role: it creates space to practise the conversations and behaviours through which culture is actually shaped.
Ultimately, perhaps the question is not:
Do we have a feedback model?
But rather:
What happens in our organization when someone actually says what needs to be said?
#leadership #feedbackculture #coaching #organizationaldevelopment #feedforward #psychologicalsafety
Nina Wendelin / Founder, CEO & certified professional coach