The Importance of Culture

For an organization to achieve its commit to continual improvement it must create a culture in which all people feel included, safe to learn, safe to contribute, and safe to challenge the status quo, without fear of being embarrassed, marginalized, or punished in some way.  For a culture to be growth-promoting the culture must insist all feedback givers be genuine and real. The more the giver is themselves in the relationship, without putting up a professional or manager front, the greater the receiver of feedback will change and grow in a constructive manner. The giver of feedback must be transparent and let the receiver see exactly what they are feeling and experiencing in the relationship. Their words must match their feelings.

The second element needed to create a culture that supports growth is acceptance and positive regard for the person receiving the feedback. The giver must be willing to let the receiver feel whatever they are feeling whether confusion, resentment, fear, anger, courage, etc. The giver must respect the receiver exactly as they are, with no conditions.

The third element needed is that the giver of feedback must accurately sense the feelings and personal meanings that the receiver is experiencing and communicates this understanding to the receiver. Sensitive active listening places the giver of feedback inside the private world of the receiver in a way that they are aware of what the receiver is aware of but also those things that are just below the level of awareness for the receiver.

For teams and individuals to perform at the highest levels, organizations need to focus on creating a culture where feedback is positive, safe, and readily sought, and where any perception of threat or fear related to feedback has been removed. Creating a feedback safe culture requires people at all levels to practice the three elements discussed above. The failure to do so will render efforts to commit to continual improvement ineffective.