4 ways to build a company culture that encourages feedback

1. Teach people how to ask.

Most employees are aware they should welcome feedback, but few are taught how to ask for it effectively. Wetzler notes that asking skillfully "is not an innate capability," and that, without guidance, many default to vague prompts like "Any feedback?" or "Was that okay?" — questions that rarely generate useful insight.

Instead, Wetzler suggests teaching employees to be clear, intentional, and curious in their requests. He offers practical examples, such as:

• Be specific: "What's one thing I could improve in how I handled that client objection?"
• Name your goal: "I'm working on being more concise in presentations — can you flag anything that felt long-winded?"
• Invite nuance: "Where did my approach work — and where might it have caused friction?"
• Use follow-ups: "Can you say more?" or "What might that look like in action?"

2. Model asking at the top.

Leaders play a pivotal role in shaping how feedback is perceived. When they consistently seek input, leaders normalize curiosity and set expectations for openness. Wetzler explains that when senior leaders ask for feedback "early and often," they make inquisitiveness "contagious."

He contrasts two meeting styles to show the difference:

• "Okay, good meeting. Feel free to follow up with any thoughts."  Silence follows.
• "What's one thing I could do differently to make our next meeting 10% more effective?" Suddenly, answers roll in: "send materials earlier, shorten the agenda, balance airtime better." 

The second approach "unlocks insights that would otherwise stay hidden," Wetzler writes. He adds that noting "how [leaders] respond, what they share back, and how they act on it" is equally important. When leaders close the loop, they prove that asking is valued, not performative.

4. Embed asking into routines.

For feedback to stick, it must be embedded into daily rhythms, not just reserved for review season. Wetzler suggests building "ask-first prompts" into recurring workflows and rituals that make the habit unavoidable.

At Transcend, the organization he cofounded, employees participate in a "two-by-two" practice twice a year: Every staff member asks colleagues to share two things they're doing well and two they could improve, with examples in both cases. This exercise "normalizes feedback and surfaces specifics that improve performance and strengthen relationships," Wetzler writes.  

Research supports this approach. Studies on feedback-seeking behavior show strong correlations between intentional asking and task performance, and Wetzler points to Thanks for the Feedback authors Sheila Heen and Douglas Stone, who argue that feedback "works best when receivers are in the driver's seat."

Beyond performance, Wetzler adds, the act of asking transforms culture. When employees routinely request input, "it sets a powerful norm: We value constant learning more than perfection." The shift "model[s] humility, reduc[es] stigma around mistakes, and grant[s] permission to be vulnerable," he writes.

By incorporating these structures, asking becomes part of the fabric of how work gets done. "Great learning organizations don't just talk about feedback," Wetzler writes. "[T]hey engineer moments to ask for it."