Culture of
Feedback
Tom Fuller, Head of Engineering
tom@nextjump.com
@thom_fuller
June 7, 2017

LHF “lying/hiding/faking” = Walking on EGG SHELLS
What does LHF feel like?
Like you can’t say what you really feel.
Like people are not telling you things.
Like it’s not safe to disagree.
Like it’s not safe to be honest.
It feels like walking on egg shells.
Poor performing teams are surrounded by
eggs shells.
And poor performing teams destroy value.
2

CAN DATA PREDICT GOOD LEADERSHIP?
Can we create a “credit rating”
of leadership?
Not “are you a great leader” but “are you
doing the good behaviors that make great
leaders?” And are you NOT doing the
things that lead to bad leadership?
Like credit: Do you pay for bills on time? Do
you have a history of responsible spending?
Have ever declared bankruptcy and walked
away from your debt/responsibility? Do you
have bad habits?
NxJ is working on the leadership equivalent
of this.
3
#1 thing a leader
should NOT do = LHF

FEEDBACK DATA
Finding the “Signal in Noise”
Feedback data: we can measure what was
not measurable before: the amount of
feedback someone is getting
But there is a lot of noise. Some feedback is
more valuable than other. What piece of
feedback is good & valuable and what is
uninformed nonsense?
4

#1 Insight: Lowest performing
teams are lead by leaders who
are hiding
Getting a lot of feedback doesn’t guarantee
performance, but NOT getting
feedback guarantees failure
Feedback is a precursor to better results
Like most things in life: What makes a great
leader has some artistry to it. It's not a
formula. But what makes a bad leader is
much more consistent.
KEY INSIGHTS
5
Growing NOT Growing

FEEDBACK IS EXPLODING
6
At an organizational level, is it scary
to let employees give us their
opinion whenever they want?
Of course it is – but that horse has
left the barn. People now post
information about their workplace
on a variety of online sites
(Glassdoor, Facebook, and others)
or share information privately with
their friends.
Josh Bersin
Founder - Bersin by Deloitte
“Nobody wants to admit defeat,
failure, or any set backs … under
performers don’t get or deny any real
feedback … Like in the business world
our CNO sees this as a needed
competitive edge against our
adversaries. At stake is nothing less
than National Security.”
Herman Shelanski
VADM US Navy

What have we learned
about feedback?
How to design your culture to overcome these issues …
1) Fear of giving candid feedback
2) Fear of “looking bad” in front of peers
3) How to “own your feedback”

Problem #1:
Fear of Giving
Candid Feedback
8

9
AM I GOING TO TELL YOU WHAT I REALLY THINK?
Will I hurt your feelings?
Am I being judgmental?
Am I a hypocrite?
Will I get in trouble?

“Cultures where everyone
is nice are filled with
inauthentic kindness”
10
RADICAL CANDOR
https://www.radicalcandor.com/
Dr. Jim Loehr
Human Performance Institute
1
2
3
4

Give 5 minutes at end of
meetings …
VISCERAL (FAST) vs THOUGHTFUL (SLOW)
11
LEARNING #1
If you give people a lot of time
to write feedback – they will
logic their way to being nice /
political … and water-it-down
And get more “empathetic” – and the
empathy lowers their directness
Often, the more time you give, the less
feedback you get. They forget to do it.

People naturally “rate high”
(at start)
Like Uber or Netflix rating – people tend to
“barbell” (high or low)
When feedback is new in an organization,
people tend to give 3s and 4s
2 = “what you expect from them”
NORMALIZE “2”
12
LEARNING #2

People are so unpracticed
at giving feedback – it is often
ambiguous. The number
clarifies what you mean.
But the number alone is not enough. It
does not tell give info about WHAT to
improve
And the number gives a data trail.
NUMBER RATING + COMMENT
13
LEARNING #3
“I really liked the summary of
results – a good innovation.
But overall preso was a hard
follow & I think you lost a lot
of people”
“good job.”
sh#t sandwich
blow off (amateur-sport back pat)

Problem #2:
Fear of Looking Bad
in Front of Peers
14

COACHING THE ‘REAL YOU’ vs. ‘FAKE YOU’
15
Be authentic. Be yourself.
Otherwise, you are getting feedback on a
fake “professional” version of yourself.
You are upgrading the “front.” You are
learning how to be an expert in how other
people think.
But you cannot be great, unless you are an
expert in how you think.

NOT TRYING IS WORSE THAN
GETTING A BAD SCORE
Leadership has to demonstrate that “taking
a shot” is good. And that hiding is bad.
Also – it is not intuitive, but we found that
“investment in loss” is better than flat. If
you are leading, you will get criticized.
REDEFINE WHAT IS BAD
16
LEARNING #4

Problem #3:
How to “own”
your feedback?
17

HOW YOU ASK
18
LEARNING #6
Make it easy for others to tell
you the truth
The receiver is in charge (not the teller)
It is up to you to invite the truth. By default
you will get “comforting lies”
✘

WHERE DO EGG SHELLS COME FROM?
19
Shimon Waronker
Founder TNAA
Acclaimed Education Innovator
Integrity is when our espoused
theories (our beliefs) match our
theories in use (what we do)
Human nature means we all have
a discrepancy in our integrity
These gaps grow over time:
“entropy of integrity”
Feedback is a TOOL to
ID your own eggshells

Higher performers seek
feedback more FREQUENTLY
Consistency vs intensity
The combo of both QUANTITY and
FREQUENCY builds to a habit of feedback
FREQUENCY & QUANTITY MATTER MORE THAN THE SCORE
20
LEARNING #7
Leaders of High
Performing Teams
Leaders of Low
Performing Teams

Value is in seeing PATTERNS
It is rare that one piece of feedback is a
“huge” insight – rather, seeing the patterns
is insightful
21
FREQUENCY & QUANTITY MATTER MORE THAN THE SCORE

KNOWN GROUP + ANONYMOUS FEEDBACK
22
LEARNING #8
Candid feedback from peers
that know you
Easier to see patterns
Ex: our MV21 leadership group

DEBRIEF
23
LEARNING #9
From Navy “PBEDs” process
Process
1) Rate yourself
2) Comment most junior to most senior
3) Score on NO LHF
Was that person only transparent on the
question asked? Did they hold anything back?
LHF is a higher standard.
Ask someone else:
“Tell me the question I should have asked you?”
Ask yourself:
“What question am I afraid you will ask?”

RECOVERY PROGRAMS
24
Feedback is often badly
delivered, poorly phrased,
unfair … hard to hear. But it is
up to you to find the gold.
Recovery Process:
1. Talk about it “vent” with a trusted
partner (“burn off” emotion)
2. Sleep on it
3. Print out and read again
4. Cross out what doesn’t resonate
5. Highlight patterns
LEARNING #10

Summary
25

Giving
Feedback
Looking
Bad
Owning
Your Own
Feedback
LESSONS LEARNED SO FAR
26
1. VISCERAL (FAST) vs THOUGHTFUL (SLOW)
2. NORMALIZE “2”
3. NUMBER RATING + COMMENT
4. REDEFINE WHAT IS BAD: HIDING (getting “in the game” is good)
5. INFORMATE PUBLICLY
6. MAKE IT EASY FOR OTHERS TO TELL YOU THE TRUTH
7. FREQUENCY & QUANTITY MATTER (more than the “score”)
8. KNOWN GROUP + ANONYMOUS FEEDBACK
9. RECOVERY PROGRAMS
10. DEBRIEF
1
2
3
*
*
*
*

FEEDBACK WORKSHOP
27
PREVIEW
How to setup
organizationally
How to RECEIVE
feedback
How to GIVE
feedback
• Communicating Intent
• Programs
• How to authentically
ask for feedback
• How to ”own” your own
feedback
• How to recover
• Fast & visceral
• Frequent
Biggest mistake:
Not creating safety
Biggest Mistake:
Not “owning” your own
feedback
Biggest Mistake:
Looking for the perfect
words
(creates “too little, too late”)

KEY INSIGHT
28
Getting a lot of feedback doesn’t
guarantee performance,
but NOT getting feedback
guarantees failure.

Thank You
tom@nextjump.com
twitter: @thom_fuller