Johnsonville

Steve Sorenson is a people development and coaching leader focused on building trust, ownership and high-performance cultures. He helps individuals and teams strengthen accountability, develop their capabilities and take greater responsibility for results through accessible leadership, open communication and practical coaching.

Recognizing the Difference between Intent and Impact

Feedback is one of the most powerful tools we have as leaders. In a single conversation, we can inspire confidence, unlock growth, prevent costly mistakes, or help someone reach their full potential. Yet that same conversation can also damage trust, erode confidence, create resentment, and discourage future growth.

The difference often comes down to one important distinction: intent versus impact.

For much of my career, I believed that if my intentions were good, my feedback would naturally be helpful. Experience taught me otherwise. I remember providing feedback to a colleague about a task they were performing. I was frustrated with how things were going and increasingly irritated by the situation. At the time, I convinced myself I was having the conversation because I wanted to help them grow and become more successful.

Afterward, however, something didn't sit right with me. The more I reflected, the more uncomfortable I became. I realized that helping them grow was not my primary motivation. My real goal was to vent my frustration and get something off my chest. If I’m honest, there was even a part of me that wanted them to feel “less than” so I could feel better about myself.

That realization was difficult, but it fundamentally changed how I think about feedback.

Today, before offering feedback, I try to ask myself a simple question: What outcome am I truly hoping for? Am I trying to help someone succeed, or am I trying to make myself feel better?

Those motivations may sound similar on the surface, but they create very different experiences for the person receiving the feedback. People may not always remember what you said, but they will remember how you made them feel. When feedback is driven by frustration, superiority or ego, people often become guarded. When it is driven by genuine care and a sincere desire to help someone succeed, people are more likely to remain open.

Treating Feedback as an Act of Service

Over time, I have become convinced that great feedback is ultimately an act of service.

In my role at Johnsonville, I strive to engrain the idea that great feedback is one person investing in another person’s success. At its best, it is caring more about another’s growth than your own discomfort around having the conversation.

Of course, feedback is not solely the responsibility of the person delivering it. The receiver has a responsibility as well.

Even when feedback is delivered with positive intent, it can still be difficult to hear. Few people enjoy being told they have blind spots, areas for improvement or behaviors that create challenges for others. Our natural tendency is to react emotionally, defend ourselves, explain our actions or dismiss the feedback.

Receiving Feedback with Openness and Gratitude

Some of the most meaningful growth in my life has come from learning to pause rather than react. I’ve learned to take time to process what I’ve heard, listen carefully, and consider whether there may be value in the feedback, even if I initially disagree with it. Feedback doesn’t need to be completely accurate to be useful. Sometimes the most important question is not whether the feedback is right or wrong, but what I can learn from another person’s experience or perception.

One of the simplest habits I've developed is saying, "Thank you."

Not because I automatically agree with the feedback or have committed to changing anything, but because someone cared enough to take a risk, have a difficult conversation and share their perspective. That alone deserves acknowledgment.

As I've reflected on feedback through the years, I've become convinced that its greatest impact extends far beyond individual conversations. Feedback shapes culture. Organizations often talk about building trust, fostering accountability, increasing engagement, and creating high-performing teams. Yet those outcomes depend on people’s willingness to demonstrate Humble Candor and receive that truth with openness.

When people stop giving feedback, problems get hidden. Frustrations grow in silence. Assumptions replace conversations. Performance plateaus. Trust erodes. Conversely, when people believe their feedback will be received with respect and that positive intent will be assumed, they become more willing to speak up. Difficult conversations happen sooner. Problems are addressed before they become crises. Relationships grow stronger. Teams learn faster because people are no longer spending energy protecting themselves.

Modeling Feedback as a Cultural Norm

Leaders play a critical role in establishing feedback behaviors, not only through the feedback they give, but through the way they receive it. Every time a leader responds with curiosity rather than defensiveness, they signal that speaking up is safe. Every time a leader receives feedback with humility, they strengthen the culture around them.

The strongest organizational cultures are not built by people who avoid difficult conversations. They are built by people who are willing to give feedback in a way that has genuine care at their heart and by people committed to receiving feedback with positive intent assumed.

When both become cultural norms, feedback stops being something people fear. It becomes one of the most powerful tools for growth, trust, and human connection that an organization can possess.

In a world where every person wants to be successful, there may be few greater acts of service than caring enough to help someone become the best version of themselves.