The gap in feedback culture is one of the quietest barriers to growth in organisations.
It rarely comes from bad intent, as most people genuinely want to develop themselves and their teams. The challenge is that feedback — one of the most powerful tools for growth — often breaks down after it is delivered, preventing organisations from building a healthy feedback culture.
When it comes to feedback we tend to focus heavily on the structure we will follow or the words we will use. Training reinforces this well and people understand what to say and how to say it.
But what happens next is where impact is either created or lost, because even perfectly delivered feedback can fail to create change if it is not received in a way that allows learning to happen.
And this is where many organisations hit a wall.
The real problem isn’t delivery — it’s reception
Feedback is often treated as a communication skill, whereas in reality, it is a relational and emotional exchange.
Teams can complete workshops on feedback models and still struggle in practice, because in the real world, the message lands differently.
A colleague might becomes defensive or shut down, while a well-intended suggestion is experienced as criticism.
Nothing about the framework has failed, it’s the system around it that has. And this is why improving feedback culture is less about teaching models, and more about shifting how people respond to being challenged.
Receiving feedback is a mindset, not a technique
Receiving feedback is often framed as a skill, but in practice, it is a mindset.
How we respond when someone points out something we could do differently shapes far more than individual performance. It shapes team dynamics, psychological safety, and ultimately culture.
Mel Robbins’ “Let Them” theory captures something important here.
We cannot control how others deliver feedback. Let them do it in their own way — direct, hesitant, clumsy, or overly blunt. That part belongs to them.
But we can control our response, and Tthis is the shift: from reacting defensively to becoming curious about what might be useful within what we’ve heard.
Let them speak.
Let me learn.
Why feedback culture matters in the workplace
When people begin to see feedback as helpful information for the future rather than judgement, conversations become more productive. Instead of avoiding difficult conversations, people begin to engage with them.
Feedback becomes less of a threat and more of something to explore rather than resist.
This shift has a direct impact on performance:
- Conversations become more honest
- Teams collaborate more effectively
- People take more ownership of their development
- Managers spend less time managing tension and more time enabling growth
Over time, this shapes a strong feedback culture, where feedback is not something people fear, but something they actively use to learn and improve
Why this is so hard to change
Most organisations already invest in feedback training, but often on the moment of delivery, not the moment of reception.
We teach people what to say, but rarely give them space to experience what it feels like to receive feedback under pressure. And without that experience, behaviour rarely shifts.
This is where feedback culture becomes stuck: intellectually understood, but emotionally unpractised.
From understanding to experience
Real change happens when people are given the opportunity to experience feedback differently.
To notice their own reactions in real time and pause defensiveness before it takes over.
Or maybe to try a different response and see what happens next.
This is where experiential learning becomes powerful.
At 1948, we use actor-led approaches and Forum Theatre to recreate real workplace moments in a safe environment. Participants explore live feedback scenarios, experiment with different responses, and see the immediate impact of changing behaviours.
It is not about theory. It is about rehearsal.
The ripple effect on culture
When people learn to receive feedback differently, everything changes. Feedback stops being a process and becomes part of how people work together.
Conversations become less fragile and teams become more open to challenge and learning.
Leaders also begin to see a shift in psychological safety that is difficult to create through policy alone.
Bringing it into practice
For HR and L&D teams, this creates a clear opportunity to help people experience feedback in a way that changes how they respond to it in the real world.
This is exactly what we explore in our Feedback Masterclass.
It is a practical, experiential session designed to help teams move beyond models and into behaviour. Through live scenarios, reflection, and actor-led facilitation, participants build confidence not just in giving feedback, but in receiving it.
Feedback culture doesn’t change when people know more, it changes when people respond differently.
If this resonates, you can learn more about our approach to experiential learning across feedback, leadership communication, difficult conversations, and psychological safety.
