Feedback Transparency Initiatives

The higher you rise, the less feedback you get! Dangerous! Great leaders actively seek out the truth: Gathering open and honest feedback as a senior leader is no walk in the park. It’s crucial for leadership improvement and organizational success. Real, unfiltered feedback can be transformational. But how do you get it when you’re at the top? Here are six ways, that can make a difference: 1/ Anonymous Surveys: Allow team members to provide feedback without the fear of repercussions. Use tools like SurveyMonkey or Google Forms. 2/ 360 Degree Feedback: Get insights from all directions. Peers, subordinates, and even your own superiors. A comprehensive view can reveal blind spots and areas for growth. 3/ Regular One-on-Ones: Create a safe space for open dialogue. Ask specific questions about your leadership and be prepared to listen actively. 4/ External Coaches and Mentors: Sometimes, people are more comfortable sharing with a neutral third party. Coaches can gather feedback and share it with you constructively. 5/ Feedback Panels: Assemble a group of trusted employees to provide regular, structured feedback. Rotate members to get diverse perspectives. 6/ OpenDoor Policy: Make sure your team knows they can approach you with feedback anytime. Encourage a culture where constructive criticism is not just accepted but valued. Once you’ve gathered feedback, it’s essential to take these steps to ensure it leads to real improvement: → Acknowledge and Thank: Always thank those who provide feedback. Acknowledge their courage and honesty. → Reflect and Assess: Take time to reflect on the feedback. Assess what changes are necessary and prioritize them. → Action Plan: Develop a clear, actionable plan based on the feedback. Share this plan with your team to show you’re serious about improvement. → Follow-Up: Regularly check in with those who provided feedback. Ask them if they’ve noticed improvements or if there are new areas to address. → Be Transparent: Share your journey of improvement with your team. Transparency builds trust and shows you’re committed to your growth. → Close the Loop: Ensure that feedback leads to action, and action leads to further feedback. This continuous loop fosters a culture of ongoing improvement. The best leaders are those who are willing to learn and grow. Feedback is your ally in this journey. How do you gather feedback in your leadership role? --- ♻️ Reshare to help other leaders grow. Follow Mike Leber for more like this. #Leadership #Feedback #PersonalGrowth

Stop saying, "We need to listen to our people." Start saying, "We need to show our work." Listening alone is a meaningless gesture without visibility. When feedback disappears into the corporate silence, it breeds distrust. The reason for low employee engagement isn't a lack of input—it's a lack of transparent follow-through. Starbucks mastered this by letting customers see which ideas were implemented, which failed, and the clear reasons behind every decision. This radical openness creates buy-in, even when the final answer is a "no." For internal teams, transparency is the ultimate retention tool. When employees know how decisions are made, they feel respected, stay connected, and maintain trust, even when they disagree with the outcome. Your feedback process shouldn't be a black box. It should be a clear window. What is your company doing to turn feedback into visible clarity? Tag a CHRO or People Leader who has built this high-level of organizational trust through transparency.

💡 Peer Review Opens Up But Why Stop at Published Papers? Nature is taking a big transparency leap: from now on, all published research articles will include reviewer reports and author responses. No more mystery behind editorial decisions just the science, the feedback, and the evolution in between. 📝 What’s changing: 🔎 Transparent peer review is now standard for all new Nature papers. 🔎 Reviewers stay anonymous unless they choose to reveal themselves. 🔎 The full exchange between authors and referees will be shared. 🔎 A valuable glimpse into how research is refined, challenged, and clarified. 📢 But here’s a bolder idea: Let’s also publish peer review reports for papers that don’t get published. Why? Because those reviews still contain valuable insights, scholarly critique, and lessons for future research, especially for early-career scientists. ⚠️ Why this matters: Science evolves through debate and iteration, not just the final product. Making all editorial decisions and peer feedback visible would enrich research culture, improve reproducibility, and demystify the publishing process. 💬 What do you think should editorial reports for rejected papers also be made public? ♻️ Repost to spark the conversation on scientific transparency. #OpenScience #PeerReview #AcademicPublishing #ResearchTransparency #ScienceCommunication #Reproducibility

Last year, I interviewed 50+ top-tier CPOs for Forbes. I asked them what was working best for them in leadership development & EX. Here’s one fascinating theme that kept coming up: → Simple, creative ways to collect informal feedback. Despite all the fancy programs & tools these CPOs had at their disposal, my interviews always seemed to gravitate in this direction. Here are five of my favorite (and most steal-able!) examples. 1/ Manager involvement meetings at Adobe How it works: Used to boost manager involvement in programs. Managers MUST engage in a series of 1-on-1 meetings over the course of the program: W/ the participant, the participant’s coach, the participant & coach, etc. Why I like it: Learner engagement hinges on manager involvement. Mandatory 1-on-1 involvement forces the issue. 2/ A master Google doc at Catholic Health How it works: L&D teams at various hospitals around the globe collaborate on a single Google doc. They pull thematic feedback from peer learning exercises. They pool thoughts, ideas, and examples. Why I like it: It’s free, it’s habitual, and it encourages the intersection of ideas. It increases in value exponentially over time, becoming an archive of examples to pull from when designing programs and activities. 3/ Weekly AMAs with the CEO at Databricks How it works: To kick off weekly all-hands meetings, the CEO takes live questions from the audience. Why I like it: It sets the TONE. The CEO makes theirself directly accessible to the frontline, which radicalizes transparency in a way many companies (and CEOs) refuse to do. When it comes to creating a culture of honest feedback, this casts a big ripple. 4/ A “Ted Lasso Style Suggestion Box” at 10x Genomics How it works: People just write down suggestions, big or small, and put them in a box. 10x then guarantees a response to every single suggestion. Why I like it: It’s organic and welcoming. I especially like the use of smaller requests, like buying bike locks for employees. Responding quickly to small requests generates positive momentum. 5/ Platform where employees comment anonymously and upvote each other’s feedback at Exabeam. How it works: Like social media for feedback with an intentional option for anonymity. Why I like it: Qualitative feedback + upvotes to indicate how much a given question or piece of feedback resonates company-wide. Not to mention, upvotes make it fun & sticky. ___ You don’t need millions of dollars in budget to make a big splash in leadership & culture. Extra budget might even get in your way if you’re not careful. Big money draws you toward pomp & circumstance solutions. Often this is at the expense of a simpler, organic solution. And it’s those simple, organic solutions that CPOs repeatedly point to as the most valuable. P.S., follow me, Kevin Kruse, for more leadership development content like this. ___ #leadershipdevelopment

I did something crazy last week. I gave a candidate real feedback and explained exactly why they didn’t get the job. 🤯 The candidate was an excellent fit and made a strong impression on every interviewer they spoke with. In fact, it was a true photo finish. Another candidate performed just as well but brought highly specific industry experience that would allow them to hit the ground running in a way we didn’t anticipate. So I shared exactly what happened. No ambiguity. No vague platitudes. I let the candidate know they were highly regarded, well qualified, and genuinely competitive. I explained the specific reason the decision went the other way. Is that actually crazy… or should it be the norm? If someone invests hours preparing for and participating in interviews, the least we can do is treat them like a human being and not a transaction. We need to reinvent candidate feedback and stop leaving people in the dark. Ambiguity breeds doubt. Silence creates unnecessary self-blame. And “we decided to move forward with another candidate” tells people nothing about their strengths or how close they actually were. The job market has been brutal, and it’s time we return to a human‑centric hiring process that bakes empathy into every step. Why? ☑️ It strengthens your employer brand. Candidates remember how you treated them, especially when the answer was no. Transparency builds long-term goodwill and keeps strong talent engaged for future roles. ☑️ It’s a true differentiator. Very few companies provide thoughtful, honest feedback. Even fewer do it consistently. This is how you stand out. ☑️ It builds trust and credibility. Candidates are far more likely to believe in your decision when they understand it. ☑️ It contributes to better hiring outcomes long term. Candidates who receive actionable feedback may come back even stronger. ☑️ It’s simply the right thing to do. It demonstrates empathy, respect, and humanity in a process that often feels cold and opaque.   Bottom line: Honest feedback doesn’t weaken your hiring process, it elevates it. Transparency builds trust, preserves relationships, and reminds candidates that they were seen, heard, and valued. Let’s make this the standard, not the exception. #CandidateExperience #TalentAcquisition #HumanCenteredHiring #EmployerBrand #Recruiting #Leadership

As leaders, we talk often about continuous improvement, but we rarely acknowledge one of the hardest parts of that journey: getting feedback that is both honest and truly useful. My selected article highlights this tension perfectly. One line in particular stayed with me: “My last performance review was really positive. My boss told me I’m doing a great job and I should just continue to do what I’m doing.” That sentiment is familiar — and yet it highlights a real vulnerability. Affirmation alone doesn’t help leaders evolve, navigate complexity, or meet the moment in front of them. Growth requires clarity. In healthcare, the consequences of leadership blind spots are not abstract. They show up in culture, operational decisions, safety, and ultimately patient outcomes. Effective leadership depends on creating an environment where feedback becomes a strategic asset, not a once-a-year ritual. My goal is to employ some of the takeaways I noted from the authors: • Specificity accelerates growth. This is a big one that I try to identify regularly. Vague positivity may protect feelings, but it doesn’t strengthen capability. Specific, behavior-anchored feedback is what enables leaders to repeat what works and correct what doesn’t. • Psychological safety is a performance multiplier. Teams only offer candid insights when they trust the process. Building that trust is foundational to any improvement effort — operational, clinical, or cultural. • Leaders influence the feedback loop. We set the tone by how we listen, how we respond, and whether we act. When leaders demonstrate openness and curiosity, feedback becomes part of the operating rhythm. • Real feedback supports alignment across complex systems. Healthcare organizations move faster and more effectively when leaders share a common understanding of expectations, strengths, and opportunities. Honest feedback strengthens that alignment. • Feedback is a commitment to equity. Creating space for all voices is essential to building equitable systems of care. Feedback is both a mechanism and a mirror for that work. As we move into a year where transformation in healthcare will demand even more agility, transparency, and partnership, we all can use a reminder that the most effective leaders are the ones who make feedback a daily discipline and not an episodic event. That mindset doesn’t just develop leaders. It strengthens teams, elevates culture, and creates the conditions where patients and communities can thrive. #CMOInsights #HealthcareLeadership #Feedback #Leadership https://buff.ly/XosKu3b

🎮 As a gamer and product manager, I’m always inspired by game development studios, from their creativity to their product and project management. The way they manage large-scale development while engaging communities is something I continually draw insights from. Recently, I came across something that made me stop and think: Apex Legends’ public Trello board. You can check it out here: https://lnkd.in/eBpw3sk7 I was really impressed, Apex Legends is making their development process transparent (not all, which is clearly mentioned, but at least some)? Bugs, fixes, and upcoming updates laid bare for all players to see. But after exploring it, I realized that this isn’t just about transparency. It’s an excellent example of agile product management and community-driven development. It’s funny that sometimes internal teams hide information or aren't transparent with each other, yet here is a public-facing example of transparency driving engagement and trust. It really shows how openness can create stronger connections and better collaboration, both internally and with users. 1. Known Issues Visible to Users: Instead of players endlessly speculating about when an issue will be fixed, Respawn Entertainment is open about the problems. Players can track what’s being worked on and what’s already been addressed, which builds trust and reduces frustration. 2. Real-Time Progress Tracking: The board is frequently updated, providing insights into what’s in progress, being tested, or coming in the next update. This level of visibility is something most teams prefer to keep behind closed doors, but it helps players feel involved. As a product manager, I couldn’t help but think about how much we could apply this to other industries. Transparency isn’t just about keeping users informed; it’s about creating a culture of collaboration, accountability, and trust. So, what’s the takeaway for PMs? 1. Transparency builds trust: When users see progress and know you’re actively listening, they’re more engaged with your product. 2. Feedback drives better decisions: By opening up the roadmap and backlog, you foster real conversations about what truly matters. 3. Agility in action: By showing real-time progress and being transparent about blockers, your team remains flexible and responsive.

The Fair Feedback Project launched this week. I co-designed it with Claude. I want to be transparent about what that means, and what it doesn't. As I’ve shared over the past few days, The Fair Feedback Project helps instructors generate evidence-based materials to address bias in student evaluations of teaching. But I need to qualify “generate” because that word might inaccurately suggest what happens as an instructor uses the project. When you use the Instructor Track, no AI is running in the background. There are no API calls. No large language model, including Claude, is using probabilistic generation to produce your preamble, email or LMS announcement, or discussion guide in real time. Alternatively, every piece of text that The Fair Feedback Project produces was written in advance—iteratively drafted between me and Claude, revised across multiple rounds, and grounded in specific peer-reviewed literature. That text is then organized into modules that assemble deterministically based on your inputs. In this respect, the project functions more like a fine-tuned decision tree than a free-form chatbot. Why build The Fair Feedback Project this way? 🔒 Privacy by architecture: Because the project will never collect, store, or transmit your data, ever. Runtime AI generation would compromise that key design commitment. 📝 Transparency by design: Because deterministic assembly means every output is reviewable and traceable to its evidence base. I can guarantee that and you can see the cited research. 🛠️ Utility over spectacle: Because the point of this project was never to demonstrate what AI can generate (or, for that matter, hallucinate). Rather, the goal was to create something genuinely useful for instructors facing a well-documented problem. For those of us who care deeply about teaching and learning in higher education, and especially if we’re also working in faculty development, it’s critical that our transparency about AI use also functions as a pedagogical act. That stance shaped this project. My co-design process with Claude included this project’s research synthesis, content architecture, iterative drafting, and—most significantly—technical production. The product itself is human-readable, evidence-based, and fully auditable. I think higher ed needs more examples of this kind of AI use—not as a spectacle, or even a proof of concept, but rather as a form of public pedagogy that reflects my evolving understanding of responsible craft. The Fair Feedback Project is open and free. I'd welcome your honest feedback. Please use and share: https://lnkd.in/erf4qynv #HigherEd #TeachingandLearning #AIinHigerEd

Did Netflix take a page from the Blue Angels by flipping performance reviews upside down? Many companies wait 365 days to tell a teammate they're off course. At the Blue Angels, that would have been fatal. For a second, imagine flying in a jet... Inverted. 18 inches from your teammate. If you drift off your CenterPoint, would the other pilot wait until December to tell you? No, they'd tell you immediately. Power up. A little right. Steady. Netflix figured out what the top 1% of pilots have known for decades: Speed of feedback is crucial. What Netflix eliminated: - Traditional annual performance review cycles. - Formal rating systems and numerical scores. - Standardized evaluation templates. - Rigid review schedules. What Netflix implemented instead: - Continuous informal feedback - Quarterly informal conversations between managers and employees. - "Start, Stop, Continue" framework for actionable discussions. - Real-time feedback integrated into daily work. - Peer feedback mechanisms without formal structure. - Open dialogue about performance expectations. - Radical transparency as a cultural foundation. Which is very similar to what we did back at the Blue Angels... We landed, went to the debrief room, and laid it on the table immediately. Observe: See the error with clarity. Orient: Understand the context with situational awareness. Decide: Make the fix from your knowledge and gut. Act: Take massive action and then learn from it again. That’s the OODA Loop cutting right to the heart of elite execution. But it's also a methodology that works not only in aviation but also in critical decision-making and any aspect of our lives. So if one of the biggest tech companies and most elite pilots in the world use this model... Why not use the same model to create your high-performance team? So here's my challenge to you: Don't wait 365 days to tell your team they're off course. Start the debrief. Lay it on the table. Get better together. Because the best teams build a culture of excellence where feedback is a gift, given with respect, in real time. Glad To Be Here, John "Gucci" Foley #Leadership #Teamwork #HighPerformance #GladToBeHere

Listening is not optional in humanitarian work, it’s essential 🚨 The Community Feedback Mechanism (CFM) Guidance & Toolkit by the Danish Refugee Council is a powerful reminder that accountability starts with truly hearing the voices of the people we serve. This guide provides a practical, step-by-step approach to designing, implementing, and strengthening feedback systems that are safe, inclusive, and responsive. It reinforces that feedback is not just about collecting complaints, it’s about creating a continuous dialogue that drives better, more relevant programming. A few key takeaways: 🔹 Feedback is a right , people affected by crisis must have a say in decisions that impact their lives 🔹 Strong CFMs improve program quality, trust, and transparency 🔹 Closing the feedback loop is critical, listening must lead to action 🔹 Accountability is everyone’s responsibility, not just MEAL teams As humanitarian and development professionals, we must move beyond systems that collect feedback to systems that truly act on it. Because without community voices, we are not fully accountable, and we risk designing responses in the dark. 📚 Find the guide below: https://shorturl.at/LyrXf #Accountability #AAP #CommunityEngagement #HumanitarianAction #MEAL #FeedbackMatters