Most teams don’t lack feedback.
They lack a healthy way of giving and receiving it.
❌ Four Ineffective Types of Feedback
- 🌀 Through irony or changed attitude.
Instead of direct words — hints, sarcasm, and emotional distance.
- 👥 Through a colleague, at the manager’s request.
This kills trust and turns feedback into gossip.
- 🚪 Feedback given about someone in their absence.
Discussing people behind their backs isn’t feedback — it’s politics.
- 📢 Public negative feedback.
Even with good intentions, it humiliates instead of developing.
💡 Good feedback is a conversation — not a demonstration of authority.
🪜 The Ladder of Perception
When we receive feedback, we move through predictable emotional stages:
- Denial — “This isn’t about me.”
- Defense — “No, that’s not how it happened.”
- Explanation — “Yes, but…”
- Understanding — “I see your point.”
- Curiosity — “Tell me more so I can improve.”
🎯 The goal is to climb from denial to curiosity as fast as possible — that’s emotional maturity.
💬 For Leaders
Feedback culture starts with you.
If you give feedback constructively, your team will mirror it.
True maturity isn’t avoiding criticism —
it’s learning to receive it without losing your balance.
Comments