You are probably familiar with the ‘Above the Line / Below the Line’ concept. It is especially important for leaders when having feedback conversations. In 2025, there is a continued focus on fostering psychological safety in the workplace. This is highly relevant with how we have feedback conversations.
Supportive & Compassionate: You offer feedback with respect, empathy, and you tailor it to your team member’s emotional and professional needs.
Encouraging & Strengths-Focused: The feedback you offer is designed to amplify strengths, inspire continuous growth, and reinforce positive behaviours.
Open & Inclusive: You promote safe dialogue where your team members feel empowered to ask questions, share perspectives, and co-create solutions.
Growth-Oriented: You frame mistakes as valuable learning opportunities that encourage resilience and development.
Development-Driven: You encourage incremental skill-building through constructive, actionable insights.
Psychologically Harmful: It’s delivered in ways that belittle, shame, or create feelings of inadequacy.
Fear-Inducing: It erodes trust and safety, cultivating a toxic workplace culture.
Silencing: It discourages idea-sharing and prevents open discussions out of fear of punishment.
Criticism-Focused: It treats mistakes as evidence of incompetence, fostering blame-shifting and avoidance.
Responsibility-Avoidant: It leads to a lack of accountability and diminished team morale.
Receiving Feedback:
Think back on the feedback you’ve received. Was it Above the Line? How did Below the Line feedback impact you?
Offering Feedback:
Consider your own feedback style. Have your attempts ever fallen Below the Line? How can you adjust your approach to create safer, more empowering conversations?
Psychological Safety Insights: Watch this TED Talk