F is for Feedback: The Engine of Growth (If You Let It Be).

“Criticism, like rain, should be gentle enough to nourish a man’s growth without destroying his roots.” Frank A. Clark.

Feedback is often framed as a performance tool - but in high-functioning leadership teams, it’s a relational contract. It signals trust, accountability, and a shared commitment to growth. Yet research shows that feedback is frequently avoided or diluted, especially at senior levels.

In one executive team we supported, feedback was “polite but pointless.” Leaders feared disrupting harmony or taking personal risk. By introducing structured peer feedback and coaching-style inquiry, the team began surfacing real tensions - and resolving them. The result? Better decisions, deeper trust, and a measurable lift in engagement scores.

Actionable Insight:

• Shift from “feedback” to “feedforward” - focus on future impact, not past mistakes. 

• Use positive feedback to reinforce the behaviours that matter.

• Encourage people to work to their strengths and endorse constructive actions.

• Use structured formats like Start - Stop - Continue or Situation - Behaviour - Impact (Centre for Creative Leadership). 

• Model vulnerability: Share what you’re working on and invite input.

Why it matters: Feedback isn’t a threat - it’s insight. When leaders embrace it, they unlock adaptive capacity and collective intelligence.

London, M., & Smither, J. W. (2002). Feedback orientation, feedback culture, and the longitudinal performance management process. Human Resource Management Review, 12(1), 81–100. 

DeRue, D. S., & Wellman, N. (2009). Developing leaders via experience: The role of developmental challenge, learning orientation, and feedback availability. Journal of Applied Psychology, 94(4), 859–875.

Center for Creative Leadership, www.ccl.org