3 bold moves to boosting your own feedback culture

February 11, 2025 (originally posted on LinkedIn)

How comfortable are you with feedback? Does just reading that word start some uneasiness? Do you flash back to a previous experience, positive or negative? On a scale from already running out the door to its a weekly habit, building or boosting a feedback culture is a journey. A journey that takes bold moves. And you don't need to wait for a leader or a organizational campaign, you can focus on your own feedback culture. 

At Bold2Move, we are often interacting with teams that have members across that scale. But most unfortunately, they are often leaning to being uncomfortable or unprepared to embracing a feedback culture. Whether it be receiving or giving, feedback can feel like a four letter word* or something you hope falls down on the agenda points. However, it doesn't have to be. This month, we would like to share some of our favorite tips and hint to make sure you can build a feedback culture not just for yourself but for your team.

Today we start small, we want you to reflect. In the upcoming weeks, we will be sharing some more resources and hints from experts. And at the end of the month, we wrap it up with our very first 'Are you bold enough' webinar series. So stay tuned, as will be opening registration this week! (update 12.02: you can now register here.) 

Follow us on this journey, share your tips, be vulnerable and challenge yourself on how you can embrace a feedback culture.

💡Try this ▪️◾⬛◾▪️🚫 Avoid this

💡Shift your attitude 

If feedback is not a natural habit, you may have some previous exchanges that are not allowing you to embrace it. Turn the page on those experiences and start a new chapter on how you view feedback. In many feedback resources, you might read that it is a gift. And it can be and it should be. Allow yourself to be open for this gift of self-awareness and to experience a new feedback culture that you shape. 

🚫 By shifting towards a more positive understanding of what feedback can bring to yourself or your team, you can avoid miscommunications, future conflicts and of course a missed opportunity for personal growth. 

💡 Pause and self reflect

When receiving or giving feedback, we might tend to jump to a conclusion, speak to quickly (or too late), shut down or even overthink it. It is important that we pause and take time to reflect. In both cases of receiving and giving, its critical that thought goes into what is being shared and what is heard afterwards. 

🚫It is very hard to take back words already said and even harder to hear something not shared. Spending time to reflect and prepare you can avoid feedback turning into that four letter word* and missing an opportunity to give or receive that gift. 

💡Don't wait, ask for feedback today

Are you waiting for someone to approach you with feedback, or waiting for the right time to ask a colleague for it? Or even more troublesome, waiting for that quarterly or yearly review? Instead, ask a colleague today. Starting simple with how did a previous presentation go, could they let you know what they think your top 3 strengths are. Then return the favour and ask if they would like to hear something back. 

🚫When we wait, feedback is then not given timely. On top you are missing the chance to celebrate your strengths and successes and get a look into what could be some blind spots. 

For the rest of February, we will be sharing often from our own experiences, favorite resources and more tips on boosting your feedback culture! 

Have your own experience, we want to hear. Have a question, we want to help. Leave a comment below OR schedule a complementary advisory hour with us. 

*As a native English speaker, I have learned not all idioms are known or can be understood outside of the language. Here is an example, I grew up using the phrase 'four letter word' as a way to represent all swear words or profanity.