Creating a Culture of Continuous Feedback After Training

One of my biggest learnings from leading summer professional development for teachers? If you want a culture of feedback, you have to intentionally do so. The first step is to have short and sweet surveys (daily for summer PD, weekly thereafter). Most leaders do this. But to ensure the survey truly builds a culture of feedback and continuous improvement, I've learned three things: ✅ Ask focused questions. Simply, we get the data that we ask for. Ask both about the content and the general format of PD. For content, a few questions can be: What is one practice you are excited to try?; What is one thing you remain unclear on? What is one thing you know you will need further support on? For format, a simple Keep-Start-Stop can be super helpful. ✅ Review the data with your leadership team- This will allow you to process the feedback, add any additional color based on observations, and design a game plan. This can include differentiating groups, shifting a summer PD schedule or changing up future case studies and role plays to better address where the team is at. During the year, it will help you focus your observations. ✅ Respond to the feedback-It's not enough to make changes to the day based on the feedback. If you are giving people surveys, you must discuss the trends you saw and address these so that folks know they are being heard. Articulate how you are shifting things or if you can't, address where concerns or confusions will be addressed. When folks hear how their feedback is being heard they are more likely to be honest in the future. For concerns or feedback that only 1 or 2 folks have? Follow up individually. The time invested early on will pay dividends later. I know these tips don't only apply to school leaders, though Summer PD is definitely top of my mind. What are your tips and 1% solutions in building a culture of feedback and continuous improvement?

Most teams don’t get better because they don’t take time to debrief. Last year, I had the honor of doing a bunch of leadership development work alongside my dear friend and amigo, Michael French. He’s a multi-time founder with successful exits, a fantastic family, and a heart of gold. One of the most powerful tools we taught together (really he, Michael O'Brien, and Admiral Mike McCabe taught, and I amplified in my sessions) was the concept of a Topgun-style debrief — and then we practiced it ourselves after every single session as a group. It’s a simple but transformative ritual. After every experience, we’d ask each other: What went well? What could have gone better? And what actions will we take to be even better next time? That’s it. Just three questions. But when asked in a space of trust, it opens the door to continuous improvement, honest reflection, and shared learning. The coolest part? Michael started doing it at home with his son — and now his son comes home from school excited to debrief the day with his dad. That’s when you know the tool is working. The origins of this approach go back to the Navy Fighter Weapons School — better known as Topgun. In the 1960s, Navy pilots were underperforming in air combat. So they changed the way they trained. But more importantly, they changed the way they debriefed. They created a culture of constructive, positive, inclusive performance reviews — grounded in trust, openness, and the pursuit of excellence. Led to a 400% improvement in pilot effectiveness. The philosophy was clear: the debrief is not about blame or fault-finding. It’s not about who “won” the debrief. It’s about learning. It’s about getting better — together. The tone is collaborative, supportive, and often informal. The goal is to build a culture of reflection where people feel safe enough to speak, to listen, and to grow. Most organizations only do debriefs when something goes wrong. But if we wait for failure to reflect, we miss all the micro-moments that help us move from good to great. Excellence isn’t a destination. It’s a mindset. It’s the discipline of always being open to improvement — even when things are going well. Especially when things are going well. So here’s my nudge to you: give this a try. Whether it’s with your team, your family, your partner, or just yourself at the end of the day — ask those three simple questions. What went well? What could have gone better? And what actions can we take to be even better next time? Let me know if you do. I’d love to hear how it goes.

How does feedback affect performance? There is a solid body of research to show that feedback can be among the most powerful influences on performance (see references in the attachment and link in the comments). However, it is also apparent that feedback is not always a gift, and it can often harm performance. An evidence-based approach can help establish a feedback culture that effectively drives performance. Below you can find recommendations adapted from CIPD’s evidence review and my consulting practice: 1- Remember that feedback is not always useful. Instead of encouraging managers to give as much feedback as possible, emphasize quality feedback. Prompt managers to invest time in better preparing and delivering feedback. 2- Train managers to recognize and work with reactions to feedback. Managers can ask how the person feels about the feedback, and whether it is actionable or fair. 3- Consider assessing employees’ reactions to feedback more systematically. For example, ask short questions to quickly survey employees after a feedback meeting to evaluate how useful the feedback was for them and how positive/negative they feel following the feedback. This can inform further line management conversations or target training to develop managers’ capability in feedback. 4- Managers and colleagues giving feedback should be encouraged and trained to do the following: • Deliver specific feedback. Provide them with a guide on what specific, detailed, and elaborated feedback means, including what points they should cover. • Before giving feedback, assess what type of tasks the feedback will cover. For most tasks, and especially creative ones, avoid giving negative feedback where possible and focus on positive episodes and on how to recreate them in the future. For precision, risk, and prevention tasks, negative feedback is more appropriate. • Ensure feedback is fair and seen to be fair.  Explain to employees how the information was gathered, highlighting why it is consistent, accurate, and unbiased. • Encourage managers to ask people what feedback they would find most helpful, both to involve them in the process and help make it specific in relevant ways. • Don’t push for very frequent or immediate feedback across the board. Encourage teams and managers to find the frequency and timing that works for them –monthly might be better than weekly, and immediate feedback might not always be the most helpful. • Managers should involve employees in a two-way conversation, rather than making feedback one-way, top-down communication. • Provide training on how to minimise biases and accurately use observations to inform feedback. 5- Ensure feedback enables behavioral change that is both strategic and impactful. You can find more recommendations and references in the doc attached. What best practices would you add to enable a feedback culture? ♻️ Repost to spread value. 🔔 or follow to read similar content.

I once had a team of insecure overachiever analysts. They were introverts, brilliant at their work, and incredibly nice people. Too nice, as it turned out. They were so nice that they wouldn't tell each other what was really going on. Instead, they'd come to me: "So-and-so is doing this thing that's really annoying. Can you do something about it?" I got sick of everyone putting me in the middle instead of taking ownership of their issues with each other. So I did something about it. I brought in trainers from the Center for Creative Leadership to teach everyone the Situation-Behavior-Impact (SBI) model (link in comments). The process was simple but powerful: 1. Describe the situation so everyone's on the same page. 2. Share the specific behavior you observed (no judgments about intent). 3. Explain the impact on you or the other people in the room. We started with positive feedback to create safety. We practiced saying things like, “When you walked into that meeting with a big smile, the impact was that it put everyone at ease." Everyone started spotlighting the good that was happening, and that encouraged more thoughtful interactions. Then, we practiced constructive feedback—harder, but even more important. The impact was almost immediate. Soon, I heard people asking each other, "Hey, can I give you an SBI?" The framework made it safe. More importantly, we came to give and receive feedback for the gift that it is. That ability to give and receive honest, thoughtful feedback is the foundation of every healthy team culture. But it's a skill we rarely train for. I’m curious: What frameworks have you used in your organizations to create a culture of feedback?