Learn From a 2025 Case How One Firm Slashed Feedback Fails

 

 “The Feedback Fallacy” by Marcus Buckingham and Ashley Goodall.

The Feedback Fallacy (Marcus Buckingham & Ashley Goodall)

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Insights From the Video: Why Feedback Often Fails (and What the Firm Changed)

The main idea from the video and research is this:

Traditional feedback (telling people what they did wrong) often makes performance worse, not better. (AAPL - Inspiring Change)

The firm in the case study reduced ineffective feedback by changing the way feedback was given, not by giving more feedback.

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The 3 Reasons Feedback Failed

According to the research in the video:

1. People Are Poor at Judging Others

More than 50% of performance ratings reflect the rater, not the employee. (AAPL - Inspiring Change)
So feedback often says more about the manager than the worker.

2. Criticism Triggers a Threat Response

Negative feedback activates the brain’s fight-or-flight response, which shuts down learning. (AAPL - Inspiring Change)

3. Excellence Is Individual

Top performance is different for each person, so you cannot teach excellence by fixing weaknesses. (Instructional Coaching Group)

This is why traditional feedback systems often fail.

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What the Firm Did Differently (Key Strategic Measures)

Instead of focusing on mistakes, the firm shifted to a strengths-based, coaching-style communication system:

Old Feedback System	New System
Focus on mistakes	Focus on what works
Annual reviews	Real-time conversations
Manager talks	Two-way discussion
Fix weaknesses	Build strengths
Ratings	Coaching
Past-focused	Future-focused

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The “Yes! That!” Method (From the Video)

Managers were trained to do this:

When they saw good performance, they would stop and say:

• “Yes! That!”

• Then explain what the person did well

• Then discuss how to repeat it

This helps employees understand their strengths, which is how people actually learn and improve. (AAPL - Inspiring Change)

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Communication Framework the Firm Used

The firm replaced feedback with 3 coaching questions:

1. What worked well?

2. What are your goals?

3. How can I help?

This turned feedback into performance coaching instead of criticism.

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Results From the Case

After implementing this system, organizations typically saw:

• Higher employee engagement

• Higher performance

• Lower turnover

• Better communication

• More innovation

• Continuous improvement culture

Why? Because the system focused on learning and strengths, not judgment.

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The Big Management Insight

This is the most important idea from the video:

Feedback	Coaching
Judges the past	Builds the future
Focuses on weaknesses	Focuses on strengths
One-way	Two-way
Causes fear	Builds confidence
Lowers performance	Improves performance

So the firm didn’t improve feedback — they replaced feedback with coaching.

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Simple Model (You Can Use This for a Slide)

Performance Improvement Loop

1. Notice what works

2. Reinforce strengths

3. Set future goals

4. Provide support

5. Repeat

This creates a continuous improvement culture.

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Final Insight

The lesson from the video and case study:

People grow more from knowing what they did right than from being told what they did wrong. (AAPL - Inspiring Change)

That is why the firm reduced ineffective feedback and improved performance —
they changed feedback from criticism → coaching.

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#Leadership #Coaching #EmployeeEngagement #ContinuousImprovement #Management #GrowthMindset #WorkplaceCommunication #BusinessStrategy