Why Receiving Feedback is a Leadership Behavior
Emotional intelligence. Psychological safety. And the feedback moments that define your leadership.
You can’t separate the behaviors of leadership from the related emotional experiences.
That may sound soft, but it’s foundational. Because at the heart of every high-performing team is psychological safety: the belief that it’s safe to speak up, take risks, and be human without consequence.
And few things shape that safety more than how leaders give and receive feedback.
Feedback is About Trust
When feedback only shows up in moments of correction, people stop hearing it as support. They hear it as a threat. Even high-performing, well-intentioned teams begin to shrink back. They avoid risk. They over-index on pleasing instead of learning.
It’s not the feedback itself that creates fear. It’s the environment around it. Whether it feels clear, fair, and safe, or confusing and inconsistent.
On the flip side, feedback, when done well, becomes a source of clarity, energy, and connection. It tells your team:
I see you.
I care about your growth.
We’re in this together.
Feedback that includes what’s working builds momentum. It reinforces strengths and helps people align without second-guessing.
The Culture Shift Starts With How You Receive the Feedback
Most leaders focus on how to give feedback. But one of the most powerful things you can do is to get better at receiving it. Not performatively, but authentically.
Why? Because feedback, especially when it's real, costs something when it is shared. It comes with risk. And people are watching how you respond.
If you shut it down, rationalize it, or deflect it, that moment sends a message: it's not safe here.
If you stay grounded, open, and curious, even when it’s uncomfortable, you create the kind of culture where growth is real.
Receiving feedback isn’t about being passive. It’s an act of leadership. It’s where you model composure, self-awareness, and agency. All in real-time.
Here’s how that sounds in practice:
Start with a thank you. Acknowledge the effort it took for someone to speak up.
Notice your own reaction. Are you defending? Feeling exposed? That awareness gives you space to respond instead of react.
If needed, pause. Say, “Thanks. I want to reflect and come back to this.”
When ready, engage with curiosity. “Can you say more about what stood out?” “What would ‘better’ look like in your eyes?”
You don’t have to agree with everything. But you do get to decide what’s useful. You get to own your growth without surrendering your values.
Leaders Go First. Even When It’s Messy.
Culture doesn’t shift just because you value feedback. It shifts because you’re practicing it visibly, often, and imperfectly.
That means asking for feedback before it’s volunteered. It means letting people see you reflect, recalibrate, and try again. It means building feedback into the daily rhythm, not saving it for quarterly reviews.
When feedback becomes something leaders initiate and not just tolerate, teams stop bracing for it and start using it.
They feel safer. They feel seen. And they feel more willing to show up with their full intelligence, honesty, and humanity.
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Liv Olson is an executive coach and facilitator specializing in team effectiveness. She partners with financial services leaders and their teams to strengthen clarity, confidence, and collaboration.