EP 132: Why Most Feedback Fails (And How to Make It Actually Work) with Therese Huston, Ph.D.

The Unburdened Leader

When you hear the word, feedback, what comes up for you?

Most of us do not have a neutral relationship with feedback. It’s tangled up with our past experiences, workplace power dynamics, cultural expectations, and–importantly–our early relational wounds.

But at its core, feedback is a deeply relational act that has the power to help us unburden rather than re-wound.

Which is why it’s so frustrating that feedback in leadership and workplace culture is so often done without care, rendering the process performative, detached, and isolating.

Some of the constraints that can hamper authentic feedback in the workplace are necessary and protective, but it feels like we’ve lost the plot for the role and purpose of feedback, and in some cases, have abandoned it altogether.

But it is possible to navigate these complex systems intentionally and with clarity. We can make feedback a tool for accountability, care, and growth that helps leaders strengthen their self-awareness and be better advocates for their teams.

My guest today helps us unpack how leaders can cultivate a feedback culture that allows for mistakes, growth, and realignment.

Therese Huston, Ph.D., is a Cognitive Neuroscientist and Faculty Development Consultant at Seattle University. She was the founding director of the university’s Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning and is now a consultant for its Center for Faculty Development. Her latest book Sharp: 14 Simple Ways to Improve Your Life with Brain Science is out now from Mayo Clinic Press.

Listen to the full episode to hear:

• Why how and where feedback is delivered matters just as much for positive feedback as negative
• Strategies for making feedback a supportive and generative dialogue
• Why it’s critical to allow others space to process your feedback before you start problem solving
• How starting with your authentic positive intentions can make others more receptive to feedback
• Why it’s worth ending the conversation by checking in about their takeaways
• How typical feedback can perpetuate disparities in the workplace, and steps leaders can take to change those dynamics
• A tip from Therese’s new book to help manage stress and difficult conversations

Learn more about Therese Huston, Ph.D.:

• Website
• Twitter: @ThereseHuston
• Connect on LinkedIn
• Let's Talk: Make Effective Feedback Your Superpower
• Sharp: 14 Simple Ways to Improve Your Life with Brain Science

Learn more about Rebecca:

• rebeccaching.com
• Work With Rebecca
• The Unburdened Leader on Substack
• Sign up for the weekly Unburdened Leader Email

Resources:

• Principles: Life and Work, Ray Dalio
• Radical Candor: Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity, Kim Scott
• Nine Lies about Work: A Freethinking Leader's Guide to the Real World, Marcus Buckingham, Ashley Goodall
• The Coaching Habit: Say Less, Ask More & Change the Way You Lead Forever, Michael Bungay Stanier
• Thanks for the Feedback: The Science and Art of Receiving Feedback Well Douglas Stone, Sheila Heen
• The 90 second life cycle of an emotion
• Leslie K. John
• Personality feedback is holding certain groups back – Textio
• Job Burnout At 66% In 2025, New Study Shows
• EP 123: Befriending Your Nervous System: Building Capacity for Regulation with Deb Dana
• The Frozen River, Ariel Lawhon
• Adele - Skyfall
• Shrinking