Your Startup Doesn’t Have a Feedback Culture. It Has a Fear Problem.
“We have an open culture.”
Cool. So why does everyone still keep their real thoughts to themselves?
Let’s be honest: most startups don’t have feedback cultures.
They have selective honesty cultures.
They welcome “feedback” that’s convenient, flattering, or fits into someone’s Q3 goals.
But anything that challenges power, ego, or process?
Yeah. That’s a career-limiting move.
Source: Tenor
The Quiet Tax of Feedback Theatre
You know the play:
A manager ends every meeting with “any feedback?”
Cue: crickets.The CEO says “don’t be afraid to challenge me,”
but still pouts when someone actually does.Anonymous surveys go out quarterly,
and everyone treats them like HR horoscopes.
This isn’t a feedback culture.
It’s a high-functioning avoidance strategy.
And it costs you—big.
Smart ideas die in people’s heads.
Trust drains quietly.
Your best people disengage—or disappear.
Real Talk: Why It’s Like This
It’s not because your people don’t want to give feedback.
It’s because they’ve learned what happens when they do:
Nothing.
Their input vanishes into a vacuum.Backlash.
They’re labeled “difficult” or “not aligned.”Performative “Thanks.”
Leadership nods politely, then moves on.
The result?
A company full of intelligent adults playing it safe.
Bottom Line: Startups that treat culture like a "later" problem usually don’t get a "later."
👉 Want a Real Feedback Culture? Build for It.
It doesn’t happen just because you say “our door is always open.”
You have to design for it—intentionally.
Here’s how:
1. Train People to Give Feedback Well
Clear. Direct. Compassionate.
This isn’t instinct. It’s a skill. Teach it.
2. Make It Safe to Speak Up
Not just legally—emotionally.
If someone shares hard truth and gets side-eyed after, you’ve already lost.
3. Close the Damn Loop
Nothing kills a feedback culture faster than silence.
Even a simple “we heard you, here’s what we’re doing/not doing and why” builds trust.
4. Start at the Top
Leaders need to model feedback resilience.
If the founder can’t take a punch, no one else will dare throw one.
Final Thought
Culture isn’t what’s on your Notion page.
It’s how people behave when there’s risk involved.
If your team doesn’t feel safe to speak the truth, don’t call it a feedback culture.
Call it what it is:
A fear culture in a Patagonia vest.
Fix it before your best people decide silence isn’t worth it, and neither is staying.
