You Don’t Have to Fix Everything at Once: The Hidden Reason Feedback Conversations Fail
You sit down for a 1:1 feedback conversation.
You have a long list in your head:
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The behavior you noticed yesterday.
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Feedback from a colleague this morning.
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An email that missed the mark.
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Something that has been bothering you for weeks.
You only have 15 minutes.
How are you supposed to cover it all?
The Result: A Conversation That Tries to Do Too Much
So you talk fast.
Try to fit everything in.
Start by saying that overall, they are doing a good job.
Then, rush through everything they need to improve.
By the end of the conversation, you are not sure what actually landed.
They nod.
They agree.
They promise to improve.
And still...
Nothing really changes.
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Why This Happens More Often Than You Think
When feedback feels like a one-time event, the pressure is huge.
We feel like we have to fix everything, right now.
But when feedback becomes an ongoing practice, the pressure drops.
You don’t have to cram everything into one conversation.
You know you’ll check in again next week, or in a few weeks.
That knowing gives you space to pause.
To focus.
To choose what matters most.
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Root Cause First. Ripple Effect Later.
Most of the time, when you go deep into one real root cause, something surprising happens:
Other issues start to solve themselves.
Without you ever needing to bring them up.
Because not everything is equally important.
Not everything needs to be said.
Some behaviors are noise.
Others are signals.
Feedback Overload = Feedback Blur
When everything feels urgent, nothing gets through.
That’s why the smartest thing you can do is choose one thing.
Not five.
Not three.
Just one clear shift.
That’s the Pareto principle in action.
When you focus on the 20 percent of behavior that drives 80 percent of the results, everything starts to move.
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And when you go deep into the root cause of that behavior,
and give the right tools to support the change,
that’s when feedback actually leads to new behavior.
That’s when things start to stick.
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Want to Go Deeper? Start Here
Struggling to give feedback that actually leads to change?
Get the tools that make hard conversations easier.
Download the FREE Feedback Playbook
Curious about the leadership development program I facilitate?
Click here to learn more
If you are ready to turn your feedback conversations into real momentum, let’s talk.
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More to Explore
Curious about how to open a feedback conversation in the right way?
You might enjoy this one:
What to Begin With: Strengths or Struggles?
Final Note
Feedback is not about saying more.
It’s about choosing wisely.
And knowing when to stop talking, so something can finally shift.​