On Feedback, Growth, and the Leadership Skill Changing Everything

Happy Wednesday!

Welcome to Leadership Unscripted. Each edition, we share 1 Case Study, 1 Framework, 1 Question. These are real moments and practical strategies for rethinking your approach to leadership.

Let’s dive in.

Ava, a Marketing Director at a global healthcare company, believed in feedback.

She gave it often—quarterly performance reviews, mid-year check-ins, even casual one-on-ones where she’d highlight what was working and where employees could improve.

When she noticed her team’s engagement slipping, she was confused. She was giving feedback regularly—wasn’t that supposed to drive growth?

Then, during a leadership off-site, Ava received live 360° feedback from her peers and team members.

One comment stopped her cold:

"Ava gives feedback—but it is rarely positive... about what we did right. And we rarely hear about what’s next."

That’s when it hit her. She was giving backward-facing, negative feedback—focused on what happened instead of what should happen next.

She was missing the most powerful part of feedback: feedforward.

Ava learned more about the impact of feedforward and began to shift her approach. She replaced “telling” with coaching and conversation. Instead of teaching her team members how to do it, she coached them to do it on their own. Ava had a goal to focus on coaching forward—offering clear next steps, encouraging and supporting experimentation, and reinforcing what was already going well. Additionally, she engaged her employees in conversations to help identify their own solutions.

The result? Her team became more engaged, and proactive. They came to her with ideas and suggestions, not problems. And the best improvement, they were much more open to receiving both feedforward and feedback. Employees weren’t just hearing what needed to change—they were empowered to act on it.

Because feedback isn’t just about what went wrong. It’s about what’s possible next and how you can find a solution.

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1 Framework

The 5 C’s of Effective Feedback

As a leader, it’s important to seek ongoing feedback—and to be open to the input you receive.

The same goes for giving feedback.

Before you speak, pause to consider not just what you’re saying, but how it might land. That’s where the 5 C’s of Effective Leadership come in—a simple model turning feedback into a forward-looking, action-oriented conversation:

1️⃣ Clarity – Define what the feedback is about and why it matters.

2️⃣ Commitment – Ensure the recipient understands and is invested in the next steps.

3️⃣ Collaboration – Make feedback a two-way conversation, not a directive.

4️⃣ Curiosity – Ask open-ended questions to explore solutions together.

5️⃣ Change – Tie feedback to specific, actionable improvements.

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1 Question

The best feedback isn’t about the past. It’s about the future.

You’ve given and received feedback in many forms. First, think back to a time when the feedback didn’t land.

Now think about your team. 👉 How might shifting from feedback to feedforward alter the way your team hears, absorbs, and applies your guidance?

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More to Think About:

• People don’t resist feedback—they resist feeling like they’ve failed.

• Growth happens when feedback is framed as a path forward, not a postmortem.

• Leaders who master feedforward create teams who move faster and innovate more.

Let’s Keep the Conversation Going

How do you ensure your feedback leads to action? Hit reply and share your approach.

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Forget the fluff. We’re that company, revealing behind-the-scenes leadership wins and strategies that actually work.

Because all it takes is one bold move to shatter barriers, inspire your team, and make your mark.