Of all forms of communication, feedback is perhaps the hardest to give and receive. The giver has to criticize, which might hurt someone’s feelings, so they avoid having the conversation in the first place. And if the conversation does occur, the recipient is likely to feel shame, hearing some version of “you’re not good enough and you need to change.” So if feedback doesn’t help people up their game, then what does? The authors offer four steps to shift from a culture of feedback to a culture of coaching.
Be an ally, not a critic.