Training Feedback That Influences Organizational Growth

How it started --> How it's going I've been working with a client to develop a preliminary structure for consistent feedback and annual review stepbacks to ensure equitable access to feedback and growth opportunities. We quickly realized given the change management needed that we should operate in two phases in order to balance getting started with bring folks along. The only goals for Phase 1? Everyone gets quality feedback and no one is surprised in the annual review conversations. Simple structures, lots of training and multiple opportunities for feedback helped to achieve those basic goals, and identified MANY opportunities for growth as we moved to Phase 2. We had the opportunity to have the entire team reflect on each component of the process, from the structure of 1:1s to the 360s to the annual review conversation itself, and how well it met the purpose of the process: to define success across teams, create a shared language for how we work and equip each person to succeed. It was an energizing morning filled with ideas, creativity and my personal favorite, chart paper. A few takeaways and reminders: ⭐️ When launching a new initiative be clear on the essential goals while in Phase 1 and don't make things overly clunky ⭐️ People essentially want to be a part of the solution particularly when it impacts them. Craft your questions well, and let them in. ⭐️ Your team is the expert on their experience. Listen then to craft a plan moving forward. One last thing- people hate being asked for feedback that's not implemented. We were clear that we would listen to everything but some feedback might inform the what or how, some might be on hold and some may not be possible for any number of reasons. We did however commit to clearly explaining why any specific piece of feedback fell in each category. How do you involve your team in change initiatives? Also- if you're working to improve feedback and talent management processes, and want to bring your people along, let's talk (Chart paper encouraged but not required)

Communication gaps and weak feedback loops hurt business success. [Client Case Study] A large hospital network noticed declining patient satisfaction scores. Even with state-of-the-art facilities and technology, patients reported feeling unheard, frustrated, and confused about their care plans. The executive team assumed the problem was with staff training or outdated workflows. ‼️ Mistake: Relying on high-level reports and not direct frontline feedback. Nurses, doctors, and administrative staff communicate differently based on their backgrounds, generations, and roles. - Senior physicians prefer face-to-face or email communication - Younger nurses and tech staff rely on instant messaging and digital dashboards - Patients (especially elderly ones) need clear verbal explanations, but many received rushed instructions or digital paperwork ‼️ Mistake: Differences weren't acknowledged and crucial patient information was lost, leading to errors, frustration, and decreased trust. Frontline staff experienced communication challenges daily but lacked a way to share them with leadership in a meaningful way. ❌️ Reporting structures were too slow or ineffective. Feedback was either ignored, filtered through multiple levels of management, or only addressed after major complaints. ❌️ Executives made decisions based on outdated assumptions. They focused on training programs instead of fixing communication systems. ❌️ Systemic decline Employee burnout increased as staff struggled with inefficient systems. Patient satisfaction declined, leading to lower hospital ratings and reimbursement penalties. Staff turnover rose, increasing costs for recruitment and training. 💡 The Solution: A Multi-Channel Communication Strategy & Real-Time Feedback Loop ✅ Physicians, nurses, and patients receive information in ways that align with their preferences (e.g., verbal updates for elderly patients, digital dashboards for younger staff). ✅ Digital tool that allows staff to flag communication issues immediately rather than waiting for annual surveys. ✅ Executives hold regular listening sessions with frontline employees to better understand challenges before making changes. The Result - Patient satisfaction scores improved - Employee engagement increased - Operational efficiency improved Failing to adapt communication strategies and strengthen feedback loops affects reputation, retention, and revenue. (The 3Rs of a successful organization.) Frontline operations directly impact customer and employee experiences. This hospital’s struggle isn’t unique. Every industry faces the risk of misalignment between leadership decisions and frontline realities. Weak feedback loops and outdated communication strategies create costly inefficiencies. If your employees don’t feel heard, your customers won’t feel valued. Business suffers. Are you listening to the voices that matter most in your business? If not, it’s time to start.

Your leadership training isn't working. Here's why: 45% of managers say their companies aren't doing enough to develop future leaders. But the problem runs deeper than just "not enough training." After a decade of designing leadership programs, here's what I consistently see organizations get wrong: ➡️ They treat leadership development as an event, not a journey. Think about it: You send your high-performers to a 2-day workshop. They return energized with new ideas. Then... nothing changes. Why? Because the training isn't integrated into their day-to-day performance. Here's how to fix this: 1️⃣ Start with the end in mind Map out exactly what success looks like for your leaders. What behaviors and outcomes do you want to see? Build your development plan backward from there. 2️⃣ Create accountability partnerships Pair leaders with internal mentors who can provide ongoing support and feedback. (36% of managers report witnessing ineffective leadership regularly - mentorship helps break this cycle.) 3️⃣ Design learning that sticks Instead of one-off training sessions, create a blend of: - Practical assignments tied to business goals - Peer learning groups for real-time problem solving - Regular coaching check-ins - Opportunities to teach others 4️⃣ Measure what matters Track behavioral changes, not just completion rates. Are your leaders demonstrating improved communication? Better decision-making? Increased team engagement? 5️⃣ Make it systematic Leadership development should be part of your performance management system. Tie development goals to promotions and compensation. Remember: Great leaders aren't born in a classroom. They're developed through intentional practice, meaningful feedback, and real-world application. What's one thing you're doing to develop leaders in your organization? #LeadershipDevelopment #ExecutiveCoaching #TalentDevelopment #OrganizationalDevelopment

I don’t know what all those gauges and readouts on an airplane dashboard mean, but I do know that I want the pilots flying the aircraft to see them. Otherwise, they’d be flying around the globe pressing buttons and throwing switches on hunches and guesses. It’s the same with change activation. If a business wants its initiatives to actually, you know, work, they need the gauges and readouts of change: two-way feedback loops. Too many transformation strategies stall mid-air because they're missing one critical piece: live feedback from the ground. 🚫 Not the kind that comes 90 days later in a spreadsheet from HR. 🚫 Not the kind that’s missing in a thousand unanswered surveys. 🚫 Not the kind that's too late, showing up in exit interviews from disgruntled employees already moving on to greener pastures. I’m talking about real, instant, interactive, informal feedback. The kind that can be used to course-correct in real time. I call this the “Triple I” strategy: Instant  Interactive  Informal Here's the thing about feedback: 🧭 It’s a compass. It surfaces what people are thinking right now — what they’re confused about, excited by, or flat-out resisting. 📈 It’s a growth engine. It helps teams learn faster and build smarter next time. If they already know that job security is a major concern for one group, why go through the pain of rediscovering that from scratch during the next initiative? 🧠 It’s organizational memory. A well-run feedback system captures insights that can be used again and again. No need to keep asking the same questions if the answers have already been documented. But here’s the challenge: Most companies don’t have the time, tools, or energy to conduct 1:1s, focus groups, and in-person interviews across tens of thousands of people. And survey fatigue is real. You can only send so many Surveymonkey forms before people start auto-clicking “neutral.” Instead, tap into an activity people already do several times every day: interacting with content. When change comms or capability building initiatives are embedded into a change activation platform with built-in interactive functionality, something magical is unlocked: ✅ Questions get asked  ✅ Concerns are shared  ✅ Colleagues respond to each other  ✅ Change champions emerge organically  ✅ A real-time pulse on what is and isn't resonating emerges  Even better? The data is captured automatically. Comment data becomes reports visualized in-platform with sentiment analysis layered on top. Visibility into what’s trending by audience, location, and job level — across the entire organization — without running a single survey. Access to 24/7, large-scale feedback *that doesn’t feel like feedback.* No forms. No follow-ups. Just natural interaction with change content and powerful data to guide your next move. That’s the kind of loop that fuels real agility and speed. Because strategy without feedback isn’t agile - it’s flying blind.