You built the trust. So why does giving one piece of critical feedback still feel like it might blow the whole thing up?

In this episode of the Psych Leadership Podcast, host Luke UpChurch breaks down why most new leaders either avoid feedback conversations entirely or deliver them in a way that triggers defensiveness instead of change. Drawing on 28+ years in organizational leadership and current research on feedback withholding, goal-framing, and self-determination theory, this episode gives you a practical four-step framework for delivering feedback that actually changes behavior — instead of just changing the mood in the room.

Feedback isn't about being right. It's about being useful. Providing useful feedback is a skill, not a personality trait.

Research cited in this episode:

- Coutts, A., Koh, B.H., & Murad, Z. (2026). The Signals We Give: Performance Feedback, Gender, and Competition. Management Science. DOI: 10.1287/mnsc.2024.05001.

- Andiola, L.M. (2023). How Do Reviewers' Goal Framing and Novice Auditors' Receptivity to Negative Feedback Affect Follow-Through Performance? Auditing: A Journal of Practice & Theory. DOI: 10.2308/AJPT-2021-068.

- Deci, E.L., & Ryan, R.M. (2000). The "What" and "Why" of Goal Pursuits: Human Needs and the Self-Determination of Behavior. Psychological Inquiry, 11(4), 227–268.

- Knevelsrud, H.C., Hetland, J., Bakker, A.B., Krabberød, T., Sørlie, H.O., Espevik, R., & Olsen, O.K. (2025). Empowering leadership and employee work engagement: a diary study using self-determination theory. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology.

- Center for Creative Leadership. Situation-Behavior-Impact™ Feedback Tool. ccl.org.

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