Why Feedback Culture is the Secret Weapon of High-Performing Teams.
- James Rule
- Dec 5, 2025
- 5 min read
The word feedback triggers all sorts of reactions. Some leaders brace for confrontation. Some team members hear it and expect criticism. Many organisations only practice it in a tokenistic, box ticking way, annual appraisals, half yearly reviews, “feedback sandwiches” that nobody enjoys.
In my experience the best teams in the world thrive on feedback, not as an occasional event, but as a rhythm, a discipline, and a foundation of their culture.
In professional sport, feedback is constant. Every match, every training session, every performance is reviewed. Athletes don’t just tolerate feedback they expect it. It’s how they refine their skills, bounce back from mistakes, and sustain high performance.
When I stepped into business leadership, I was struck by the contrast. Many organisations avoid feedback until problems are at a critical stage. When feedback does come, it’s often handled so poorly that it erodes trust instead of building it.
That’s why I believe feedback culture is the secret weapon of high performing teams. Done well, it builds resilience, accelerates learning, and strengthens trust. Done badly, it creates confusion, resentment, and ultimately staff turnover.
This is part one of a two part series. Today, we’ll explore giving feedback effectively. In the next edition, we’ll flip the lens and dive into receiving feedback. Both are vital if you want to lead high performing, future ready, fulfilled teams.
Why feedback matters more than ever
Let me state a fact, none of us performs at our best every day of the year. Just as athletes have hot streaks and slumps, so too do leaders, teams, and organisations.
Feedback is the mechanism that helps us course correct, it keeps everyone aligned, accountable, and learning. Without it:
Energy gets misdirected. People work hard but not smart.
Confusion creeps in. Team members don’t know what success looks like.
Momentum stalls. Frustration builds, especially among top performers, and disengagement follows.
Feedback isn’t just about pointing out mistakes. It’s about creating clarity, reinforcing strengths, and course correcting quickly when performance dips.
As Sheryl Sandberg once put it, “Feedback is a gift” but like any gift, it has to be offered well or it risks being rejected.
The three biggest feedback failures
Before we explore what great feedback looks like, let’s name the traps that I find sink so many leaders.
The Drive By - Quick, vague comments delivered on the fly. Usually public. Often poorly timed. These leave people confused or embarrassed. Leaders who use the “drive by” style may think they’re efficient, but they’re actually damaging trust.
The Delayed Drop - This is the feedback equivalent of hoarding. Leaders hold back observations for months and then unload them all at once, often in an annual appraisal. By then, the moment has passed, detail is fuzzy, and the sheer weight of criticism overwhelms the recipient.
The Personality Hit - The most destructive of all. Instead of focusing on behaviour, leaders attack the person, their attitude, their character, their identity. Once feedback feels personal, defensiveness appears, trust is eroded and performance rarely improves.
These three flawed styles all have one thing in common: they erode psychological safety. And without psychological safety, you will never build a truly high performing team.
Lessons from sport and business
The best coaches I’ve worked with both as a professional rugby player and later as a CEO shared a common trait: they delivered feedback quietly, respectfully, and consistently.
They would pull a player aside mid session, offer a short, specific pointer, and then let the player re enter the game. It wasn’t public humiliation. It wasn’t delayed criticism. It was real time learning, tailored to the individual.
The same principle applies in business. Radical candour telling the truth with empathy is the gold standard. Sandberg popularised the phrase, but countless great leaders embody it daily.
It’s worth remembering feedback isn’t only for when things go wrong. It’s equally valuable in reinforcing strengths.
In sport, when a player finds form, coaches reinforce what’s working so they can repeat it. In business, when someone delivers excellent work, feedback cements that behaviour as part of their leadership DNA.
From theory to practice: How to give feedback that lands
So how do you actually do it well? Here are eight practical strategies to help you transform the way you give feedback:
Make it timely - Feedback loses power when it’s delayed. Don’t wait six months. Don’t even wait six weeks. Give feedback close to the moment so the context is fresh, relevant, and actionable.
Focus on behaviour, not character - Never attack identity. Instead, describe the behaviour you observed and its impact.
Ask permission - It sounds small, but framing matters. “Can I share a quick piece of feedback?” disarms defensiveness and signals respect.
Be specific - Vague feedback like “You need to step up” is useless. Anchor your feedback in concrete examples. “In last week’s client call, you jumped in quickly next time, pause for input first.”
Keep it private (at first) - Praise in public, critique in private. Once feedback culture is truly embedded, teams can handle more public candour. But in most organisations, privacy is essential to avoid ego driven defensiveness.
Frame it as growth - Remind people that feedback isn’t punishment. It’s fuel for growth. Position it as support, not judgement.
Co create the plan - Don’t dictate the fix. Ask: “What do you think we should do?” This builds ownership and accountability.
Follow up - Check in afterwards. People need space to process. A quick follow up conversation reinforces commitment and shows that you care about their progress.
Weekly Leadership Challenge
Here’s your challenge for the week: Pick one person on your team. Give them one piece of feedback within the next 48 hours. Make it timely, specific, and framed as growth. Then, ask for their plan, not yours, on how they intend to action that feedback.
Notice how they respond. Notice how you feel. Small moments, repeated consistently, create the rhythm of a true feedback culture.
Final Reflection
If you want high performance, you need feedback. Not once a year. Not when things go wrong. Consistently. Respectfully. Courageously.
The best teams don’t shy away from feedback they thrive on it.
The question is: are you creating that culture, or are you avoiding the steps needed to create it?
For a deeper dive including real world examples and more detailed strategies listen to the full episode of The Lonely Leader Podcast on the below links:
DO YOU KNOW we also have a Leadership Accelerator Email Newsletter. The themes covered are similar, the main difference is the frequency. We send that newsletter once per week as opposed to every three weeks.
If you wish to explore it as an additional tool to support your continued growth and development you can subscribe via the below link. As a thank you for signing up you will receive my guide to tackling Imposter Syndrome.
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