11 Skills AI Will Never Replace: Skill #7 Feedback

Welcome to The Learn-It-All Podcast’s 11 Skills AI Will Never Replace-- our 11-part special series exploring the essential human skills that AI cannot replicate. With the start of the new year, we’re all facing unprecedented technological disruption and workplace transformation. To help you thrive in this new landscape, we’ve leveraged a study from MuchSkills that analyzed data from 28,000 professionals to identify the capabilities that will make you irreplaceable in an AI-enhanced workplace.    

Each week, dive deep into one critical skill, providing you with actionable strategies, expert insights, and Learnit’s proprietary frameworks to future-proof your career. This series isn't just about adapting to change – it's about mastering the unique human abilities that will define leadership success in the age of AI.   

The Art of Feedback: How Leaders Can Transform Performance Through Better Conversations

Are your feedback conversations falling flat? Many leaders struggle to deliver feedback that drives real behavior change and improves performance. This episode reveals a proven framework for giving feedback that people will actually hear and act on.

On this episode of The Learn-It-All Podcast, Damon Lembi and guest Dr. Mickey Fitch-Collins explore the critical skill of giving and receiving feedback effectively. Drawing from their extensive leadership experience, they break down the psychology behind feedback conversations and share practical techniques for making feedback more impactful, including how to avoid common pitfalls like the outdated "feedback sandwich" approach.

This Episode Covers:

• Why framing feedback conversations properly is crucial for reducing defensiveness and increasing receptivity
• The importance of focusing on observable behaviors and specific examples rather than opinions or hearsay
• How connecting feedback to organizational goals helps remove the perception of personal attacks
• Why public praise isn't always effective and can backfire even with positive feedback
• A simple three-step framework (Frame, Observe, Results) for structuring feedback conversations
• How leaders can create psychological safety by modeling vulnerability when receiving feedback
• The critical difference between giving feedback on job-related behaviors versus personal preferences

Episode Highlights:

00:01 – Why Feedback is Essential for Growth – Understanding why feedback matters and the different types of feedback in personal and professional settings.

05:55 – How to Give Effective Feedback – Introducing the FOR Model (Framing, Observations, Results) as a simple, structured approach.

12:31 – The Right and Wrong Way to Give Feedback – Why context matters, how to frame feedback properly, and what happens when feedback is mishandled.

19:45 – Overcoming Defensiveness When Receiving Feedback – Mickey shares a personal story about the challenge of receiving unexpected feedback.

28:30 – The Feedback Sandwich Problem – Why the traditional positive-negative-positive approach is outdated and often counterproductive.

32:38 – Giving Feedback in Private vs. Public – Why leaders should be mindful about how and where they provide feedback to avoid creating mistrust.

46:06 – Building a Culture of Continuous Feedback – How organizations can encourage open dialogue and feedback at all levels to drive performance.

About Damon Lembi:   

Damon Lembi is a...