Feedback that transforms companies (the right way to give it)

You know that environment where everyone seems to get along, no one argues, and there's a semblance of peace? More often than not, this harmonious atmosphere is just a mask for what's being avoided: confrontation.

When there's no room for direct conversation, the team operates in a lukewarm mode. No one talks about what's bothering them. Leaders push adjustments under the rug, and the entire company pretends everything is fine. But behind the good coexistence, an insecure, stagnant environment grows, lacking the energy to perform.

And this is costly.

According to McKinsey, in "What employees say matters most to motivate performance," only 21% of employees who don't receive regular feedback feel motivated by their company's performance management system. Among those who participate in ongoing development conversations, this number rises to 77%.

Furthermore, Forrester, in "Managers Who Coach Their Employees Drive Retention," points out that employees who see their managers as coaches are 1.5 times more likely to stay with the company for the next 12 months.

The silence that costs you dearly: the impact of lack of feedback

In a scenario where talent retention has become a game of rigmarole and competitors are fighting for the same team, it's no longer possible to use "easygoing atmosphere" as a culture metric.

Thriving companies build growth systems based on:

• Regular feedback

• Clear alignment

• Conversations that address the issue head-on

This is a huge competitive advantage. And the data proves it:

• According to McKinsey, in "Harnessing the Power of Performance Management," 74% of professionals who consider their leaders good at coaching say their performance systems work well.

• Meanwhile, Forrester shows, in "Managers Who Coach Their Employees Drive High Engagement," that employees who perceive their managers as coaches are almost eight times more likely to be highly engaged.

In a market where product and channel copy each other in two clicks, the way your team communicates is the real differentiator. Feedback isn't a catchphrase; it's a system. It needs to be frequent, clear, and truthful.

The discomfort that creates stability

Real growth generates friction. The question is: how do you deal with it?

Enough of the "fix it over coffee" culture. Growth requires structure.

Feedback shouldn't be emotional or sporadic. It's a process: with an agenda, a purpose, and a commitment to progress. Netflix, for example, uses "Start, Stop, Continue" among peers, and Adobe abandoned annual evaluations to adopt monthly check-ins.

At first, everyone finds it strange. Then, what was tension becomes clarity. As the book "High Performance Management" shows, "what works is a continuous program, with a schedule and progress tracking." But this only happens when the manager truly believes in it. Without committed leadership, there is no transformation.

When the team knows what is expected, where they need to improve, and the standard to be delivered, culture stops being rhetoric and becomes a system.

How to turn feedback into a growth routine

• Create a weekly rhythm of short check-ins: 15 minutes between leader and team member to align, acknowledge, and adjust. Consistency matters more than format.

• Use structured models: "Start, Stop, Continue" or "Maintain, Adjust, Eliminate." The important thing is to eliminate subjectivity and bring focus.

• Train the team to give and receive feedback: Don't expect people to know. Teach objectivity, without judgment. Criticism becomes a learning experience when the ground is fertile.

• Document learning and next steps: Talking helps, recording ensures. Even if it's a note in email or CRM.

• Start with the leaders: Without an example at the top, the foundation won't hold. Feedback needs to be visible to those in charge.

Feedback: how to tune an instrument before a concert

Think of an orchestra tuning up. The violin is out of tune, the trumpet is late, the flute is uncertain. No one made a serious mistake, but the music isn't moving. This is what happens to teams that don't align before performing.

Feedback is this alignment. It's not for presentation, but for preparation. And over time, it becomes culture. Adjustments stop being the conductor's command and become the team's instinct. Then the presentation becomes convincing, because everything sounds right.

Before adjusting the culture, understand how it works today

Some companies want to implement feedback without even knowing how the team handles difficult conversations. Diagnostics comes before the tool.

According to McKinsey, in "Feedback Culture: Great Learning Design as a Bridge to Culture Building," teaching feedback skills in the workflow accelerates the building of a strong culture.

In "Reinventing Performance Management," HBR shows how Deloitte replaced annual assessments with weekly check-ins: direct, structured, and focused on growth. Gartner, in "Performance Management That Delivers," reinforces that the key lies in alignment with culture and continuous, not one-off, practice.

Here are some questions to get you started:

• Are expectations clear between leaders and their followers?

• Is there a safe space for difficult conversations without veiled retaliation?

• Are leaders ready to handle difficult feedback with maturity?

• Does the team know how to differentiate between criticism and attack?

Ignoring these questions creates a stage culture: beautiful on the slide, awkward in practice..

The culture you lead is the culture you tolerate

You can invest in everything: slogans, training, tools. But at the end of the day, what defines the culture are the conversations you encourage—or avoid.

If the noise subsides, if the misalignment subsides, if silence becomes the norm, that's what will be replicated. The culture you want starts with what you stop tolerating.

It's not about having all the answers. It's about creating the environment where the right questions can be asked and answered. This is the beginning of any culture that wants to grow: with truth, with rhythm, and with people who know how to talk, without fear.

Source: Gazzconecta