I met with my mentor and we talked about my previous weekly assignment, then she gave me my new weekly assignment which focused on feedback. I looked at how feedback is tied to success and why the brain is so opposed to receiving feedback. If you want to put people on edge, tell them they will receive some feedback or tell them they’ll be giving feedback. Subjects one study felt equally anxious offering feedback and receiving it. This explains why workplace feedback resorts to a few polite statements, with few suggestions for improvement.

There’s a strong culture of being very nice to people, and it’s hard to be critical of someone in a constructive way. Feedback has proven to be a fundamental part of an organization’s culture. Research is suggesting that by switching from giving feedback to asking for it, organizations can tilt their culture toward continuous improvement.