How to Create a Team Built on Feedback
Let's talk about how psychological safety and feedback can take your team to the next level, and how to weave feedback giving into your culture.
I used to work for a company whose strongest core value was “feedback is a gift,” and contrary to how most organizations treat their values, they really meant it.
They did regular training on giving and receiving feedback, actively promoted healthy discourse in meetings, and even made reading books on feedback a requirement each quarter.
What was the result?
Active contribution (never a quiet meeting), better collaboration, and generally fewer pissed-off people. Why? Because everyone felt heard and wasn’t afraid of the consequences of speaking their minds.
I left that job with an obsession with feedback and was hit with a rude awakening when I realized that not only do most companies not invest in feedback training, but they don’t even care about it.
That is not the case when it comes to my team. On my team, one of our team values is “we’re feedback people,” because I saw firsthand what a strong feedback culture can do to a team. Feedback can empower people, give them confidence, and turn your team into an idea-generating machine.
As a middle manager, you’re stuck with the core values of a company that you might not believe in or may not even be true. But you can instill your own team values and build a bubble around your team that reinforces them.
Let’s talk about how to do it.
But first, the secret ingredient: psychological safety
The number one ingredient of a culture that is truly driven by feedback is psychological safety—the foundation that enables team members to express themselves without fear of judgment.
Without psychological safety, feedback feels offensive and unfair. If you have low psychological safety, don’t try anything in this article until you get that sorted out.
Here are a few ways to create psychological safety:
Show vulnerability first: As a manager, it’s your job to lead the charge in every way, including from an emotional standpoint. Psychological safety is driven by vulnerability and the trust to be vulnerable in the first place. You have to take the first step in vulnerability, which means opening up emotionally and showing that you care.
Ask a lot of questions: The best way to get your team talking is by asking questions. Be curious and always try to dig a little deeper into an issue instead of accepting things on the surface level. In a rut? Ask the best question out there: Why? Or try the always faithful: Can you tell me more about that?
Take action and follow through: Nothing is worse than a manager who says all of the right things but never does anything about it. This type of behavior creates resentment and is one of the fastest ways to lose credibility and trust within your team. Make a point to follow through with what your team asks of you, and get visibility on how you’re doing this on a regular basis. This will build the trust needed to be vulnerable and ask for help.
Talk about psychological safety openly: This might be obvious, but a great way to build psychological safety is to talk about your commitment to it on a regular basis. Not just once, but regularly. Ask your team what they think you could do to build more psychological safety and tell them what they can do to help do the same. Showing your commitment to building psychological safety on your team is a huge way to create a space for vulnerability and trust.
Building feedback into your team culture
We’ve talked about why feedback is important, and how to build the foundation of a feedback-driven culture with psychological safety. Now let’s get into how to create a culture that values and promotes feedback on a regular basis.
Be the first to ask for feedback, every time
As a manager, if you’re not asking for feedback then nobody is. Feedback goes back to psychological safety, and giving it (and receiving it) can feel incredibly vulnerable. Showing that you’re open to feedback (even the harshest kind) shows that it’s safe for your team to follow suit.
This is so pivotal that I’d recommend doing it multiple times a week. It can be as simple as asking “Is there anything else I can do to better support you?” or “How do you feel like that conversation went?”
Promote open communication
Encourage team members to communicate openly and honestly. Foster an environment where everyone feels comfortable sharing their thoughts, ideas, and concerns without fear of judgment. Reward this type of behavior when you see it happening in the open, and when you hear about it happening in a closed-door meeting.
Open communication doesn’t just mean open in team meetings, it means open all of the time. You should encourage your team to speak openly on calls without you, and among each other. Open communication breeds new ideas, shared experience, and more connections. Even if open communication sometimes means talking negatively about you, their boss. (It happens to everyone!)
Establish regular feedback channels
Create clear feedback mechanisms such as regular one-on-one meetings, team feedback sessions, or anonymous feedback surveys. Ensure that these channels are accessible, transparent, and conducive to constructive dialogue. Share the feedback that you receive in these channels to show that you’re open to feedback and that there are no negative consequences when somebody gives it.
If you don’t create channels for feedback, then you put the onus on your team members and company leadership to do so. And chances are, they won’t. Your team is your responsibility. The best way to make sure they are set up to properly give and receive feedback is by making the time for them to do so.
Lead by example
Leaders and managers play a crucial role in setting the tone for a feedback culture. Demonstrate a willingness to give and receive feedback, model constructive feedback behaviors, and actively encourage feedback exchange among team members. When somebody gives you feedback, thank them, and then call it out in your next team call.
If somebody doesn’t know how to give feedback, or doesn’t receive it well, it’s your job to coach them on how to get better at it, both for them and for the rest of the team. Leading by example should show them what good looks like.
Provide training and education
Offer training programs or workshops on feedback skills, communication techniques, and conflict resolution. Equip team members with the knowledge and tools they need to give and receive feedback effectively. Check out Radical Candor or Thanks for the Feedback if you’re looking for a good book on feedback.
Hot tip: Read a book on feedback as a team to grow together!
This is helpful for both you and the team since nobody is ever done learning how to give or receive feedback.
Normalize feedback conversations
Make feedback a natural part of everyday interactions. Encourage feedback discussions not only during formal reviews but also in ongoing projects, team meetings, and collaborative efforts.
Feedback should feel fluid and if you’ve built it into your team’s culture, it’ll happen naturally. In cases where it doesn’t, it’s your job to inject feedback opportunities into regular conversations.
Summing it up
Feedback on its own is a powerful thing, but weaving it into your culture becomes a multiplier. Teams that value feedback grow together and produce better work together, all because they trust each other to tell the truth. It creates space for vulnerability and helps people connect as people, and not just coworkers.
It’s a manager’s job to build the foundational elements of trust and psychological safety in order to truly unlock the potential of having a feedback-driven culture. You can do that by leading by example, creating channels for feedback, and providing training on how to give and receive feedback.
When feedback is at the center of a team, the whole team wins together.