Creating Feedback Culture
By: Diana Engetschwiler
Tags: Leadership Development, Feedback Culture, Team Collaboration, Team Culture, Athlete Leadership

By Diana Engetschwiler

Bring on uncomfortable conversations with respect. Why because a truly healthy culture is based on feedback. A truly inspiring culture is based on feedback.

In business there is often a feedback void. Honesty gets lost in hierarchy. In not wanting to upset a superior and miss out on a promotion, people tiptoe around the truth or remain silent all together. A culture lacking feedback elevates loyalty over honesty — and this hurts everyone, from top to bottom.

Here, again, is another area where the business world has a lot to learn from athletics. Feedback moves everything forward in athletics. Players know they will receive feedback from their coaches and teammates. A good coach knows they will receive feedback from their assistant coaches and front office or administration. In professional sports, all involved know they will receive feedback from the crowd and media. No wonder athletics is so cutthroat, competitive, entertaining and, yes, often profitable. In continual feedback, there is a constant drive to be better.

Is there a constant drive to be better at your business? Not a fear to be better. Not a cold demand to be better. A motivational drive to be better.

Feedback, if delivered correctly, can be an inspiring animator in your culture.

Feedback is a Gift

Feedback is often viewed as a threat. It doesn’t have to be. Good feedback is a gift.

As a former professional volleyball player, I would have been extremely frustrated if I was making a wrong move over and over again and no one told me. Why? Because after doing something wrong repeatedly, it becomes a habit. It becomes so internalized, ingrained in your muscle memory, that it takes even longer to eradicate. It’s often more difficult to unlearn than to learn. I loved feedback as an athlete because I saw feedback as a pathway to improvement. It is the most efficient way of learning. Feedback is free education!

But feedback usually isn’t viewed this way.

I recently had lunch with a friend who told me that she gave straightforward feedback to her big boss, and she was basically sidelined. She was stunned. All because she was trying to make the company better!

Strong leaders ask for feedback. They invite it. They know it’s the fuel that will move the business forward. Creating a feedback culture requires no longer viewing feedback as a threat to be feared but instead a gift to be treasured and gratefully received. But also you need to create an environment for feedback — if you don’t get feedback. It may be because you don’t create a good setting for people to do so… think about it…

Resistance to Feedback

If people within your business do not view feedback as a gift, there might be a psychological dimension at play.

Consider the idea of self-concept. This is essentially the self-image people construct from the beliefs they hold about themselves and the responses of others. So, if your self-concept is shattered in feedback, what this actually reveals is a fragile identity. Big egos usually mask something fragile within.

Good leaders know who they are and stand on solid ground. They are content knowing that they are works in progress; they are determined to learn along the way and do their best to lead with kindness. They aren’t drunk on their own opinions about themselves or others’ opinions. This frees them up to receive and give feedback.

Collectively, I wonder if there is something psychological happening as well. There is a generational collision in business that is often less prevalent sports, where the majority of players are within the same generation.

Older generations — Boomers and Gen Xers — are often stuck in a hierarchical model of functioning; they fear feedback from those “below” them because it seems inappropriate. The ego is all wrapped up in hierarchy.

Younger generations — Millennials and Gen Zers — grew up with social media and have been projecting idealized versions of themselves on social platforms for years; they fear feedback because it obliterates their perfected image of themselves. Here, again, we see that self-concept becomes a reactive force rather than feedback becoming a proactive force.

Good Feedback vs. Bad Feedback

Creating a feedback culture is not an excuse to complain. It’s not an excuse to constantly criticize. It’s not an excuse to not be kind. Good feedback is given positively, with a person’s best interests in mind.

When I recently asked a CEO in Switzerland for honest feedback about my speaking, he was at first shocked, but then, after stumbling around a little bit, said to me, “Sometimes when you express your ideas, it’s not very structured. If you got to your point faster, it would increase your credibility and hook your audience earlier.” Bang!!! I was thrilled — free education!

I knew he had my best intentions in mind. What he told me was totally different than someone rudely saying, “Get to the point, you’re taking too long.”

Good feedback uplifts and empowers.

In Netflix Co-CEO Reed Hastings’ book, No Rules Rules: Netflix and the Culture of Reinvention, he writes about how Netflix created a culture based entirely on feedback. One of my favorite stories in the book features an executive, Brian Wright, on his first day at Netflix. Wright was blown away in a meeting when he witnessed a low-level employee bluntly telling the owner, Ted Sarandos, that he was wrong. Brian later told Ted that he was surprised to see the guy going at him, and Ted responded, “Brian, the day you find yourself sitting on your feedback because you’re worried you’ll be unpopular is the day you’ll need to leave Netflix. We hire you for your opinions. Every person in that room is responsible for telling me frankly what they think.”

A culture that lacks feedback reveals apathy and stagnancy. It reveals that people don’t care about personally improving or collectively moving the company forward. It reveals weakness.

I recently finished up a huge project with my team. It was a success, but we were all exhausted after the launch. The next day, one of my bosses — a kind man and great leader, but often hyper-focused on his agenda — called me with a list of things to do. I stopped him and said, “How about you first ask me how I am doing after the big project?”

He told me he would never forget that phone call. He then decided to call some of the team asking, “How are you doing?” His openness to feedback and my willingness to give it from a place that would empower him not only influenced his behavior but also strengthened the culture of his company.

Take the next step in seeking feedback. If this is new for you, start by seeking feedback from a close friend or family member. Build your feedback muscle, it’s like training. Get used to it. Make it part of your day. Make it the best part of your day. What could be better than learning about how to grow? Move toward creating a safe space at your company or on your team to cultivate positive, empowering feedback.

Key Takeaways