Leading Edge is known for making the Employee Engagement Survey available to the field, and we believe in the tool so we take it ourselves. When we looked at the survey data from our own employees in 2023, one thing stood out: psychological safety was one of our lowest-scoring areas. 

That was a wake-up call. We knew we wanted to address this critical piece of our organizational culture. With support from an SRE Network grant, we got to work — focusing on what drives psychological safety, like building a stronger sense of belonging and improving how we give and receive feedback. Our goal? To tackle this challenge with a holistic and equitable approach, so every team member feels supported, valued, and able to thrive.

Choosing the right partner for this work was important. We had just wrapped up a year-long DEI process with Frontline Solutions, and we knew we could trust them to guide us through sensitive, meaningful work like this. They understand Leading Edge’s culture inside and out, and their focus on equity, cultural sensitivity, and power dynamics made them the perfect fit. Returning to a partner we already knew and trusted allowed us to hit the ground running and approach the challenge of fostering psychological safety in a seamless and thoughtful way.

At Leading Edge, we believe we can’t help others build better workplaces unless we’re living it ourselves. Three of our core values — Integrity/Yosher, Belonging/Shayyakhut, and Curiosity/Sakranut — center on open communication, inclusion, and a commitment to growth. Feedback is at the heart of all of this. It’s what allows our team to take risks, share ideas, and own mistakes without worrying about judgment. This initiative was a step to ensure we were aligned in our vision: to create a workplace where psychological safety doesn’t just exist — it thrives.

Goals and Structure of the Feedback Workshops

Model thoughtful, supportive conversations around feedback.

Help staff build confidence in giving and receiving feedback at every level of the organization.

Integrate feedback into our performance management process, offering real-time support during key milestones.

The six-session series was all about meeting people where they were:

Adaptive: Adjusted to fit the changing needs of our team and the organization.

Iterative: Built session by session, gradually strengthening skills and shifting our culture over time.

Interactive: Filled with hands-on exercises where staff could practice and grow their feedback skills together.

To build trust and accountability, participants worked with the same partner throughout most of the series. Special sessions were also held for the executive team and supervisors, recognizing the key role they play in shaping a strong feedback culture.

Understanding the difference between feedback and input

Using tools like the Management Center’s Modes of Decision-Making framework

Practicing real-life feedback scenarios through interactive exercises

Frontline Solutions helped us build a shared understanding and awareness around feedback, and the impact was clear. Between August and October 2024, we saw big shifts in how comfortable our team felt giving and receiving feedback:

The percentage of staff giving feedback to supervisors jumped from 30% to 57%.

Comfort with giving feedback to leadership grew from 40% to 66%.

Ratings for open and honest two-way communication doubled, from 30% to 60%.

The workshops focused on practical tools — like being clear, prepared, and following up — that make feedback more effective. People walked away feeling more confident and willing to engage. As one staff member put it, “I feel more confident initiating feedback conversations, knowing there’s a shared understanding of purpose and process.”

At Leading Edge, we’ve started weaving what we learned in the workshops into our day-to-day practices. Here’s what that looks like:

Using a “modes of decision-making” tool in meetings to clarify expectations and make it clear when input is or isn’t needed.

“Closing the loop” on feedback by sharing outcomes and next steps so everyone knows where things stand.

Embracing a “clear is kind” mindset to set realistic expectations and healthy boundaries around feedback.

An anonymous feedback form for folks to share questions, reactions and input. It is pinned to our operations slack channel for ease of use. 

The impact has been real. Communication dynamics have noticeably improved — our executive team now shares more timely, specific updates, and there’s been a big increase in upward communication, helping us create a more inclusive and connected environment. We’ve also refined our performance management processes to encourage feedback not just from managers, but from peers and across the organization.

At Leading Edge, we see feedback as a muscle — it gets stronger with consistent practice and effort. Here’s how we’re planning to keep the momentum going: 

Refining our feedback systems and making them a natural part of our day-to-day workflows.

Creating more opportunities for peer-to-peer and post-project feedback to boost collaboration and learning.

We’ll track our progress using Employee Experience Survey data, focusing on areas like communication, psychological safety, and trust. To keep this work moving forward, we’ll combine structural changes with consistent training to make sure the improvements stick.

For other organizations thinking about doing something similar, here’s what we’ve learned: feedback work is tough. It’s messy, nuanced, and sometimes uncomfortable — but it’s absolutely worth it. Different people bring different experiences and expectations to the table, so it takes humility, empathy, and persistence to get it right.

At the end of the day, building a culture of feedback is an investment in your organization’s long-term health. By staying true to our values and leaning into discomfort, we’re showing that real, lasting change begins from within.

Written by our Senior Director, People and Culture, this article is part of a series featuring perspectives from employees at various levels of Leading Edge, reflecting on our experiences with a feedback workshop series.

Turning Feedback into Fuel: How Leading Edge is Using Honest Conversations as an Opportunity for Organizational Growth

Sara Singla is Senior Director, People and Culture at Leading Edge, where she raises the level of organizational productivity and efficiency by listening to her coworkers and co-creating solutions with them to ensure they can do their best work, after serving Leading Edge as Senior Director, Executive Programs. Previously she worked for 11 years at Hillel International, most recently as the Director of Organizational Development. Sara completed her Master of Science in Organizational Development and Leadership from St. Joseph’s University in 2017 and her International Coaching Federation certification in 2021. She loves to help professionals and clients reflect, understand their own motivations and behaviors and empower them to create change. She is from Philadelphia, PA making her an avid (read: obsessed) Philadelphia sports fan. She lives outside of Washington, DC with her husband, Manish, sons Shai and Kiva, and their grumpy rescue pup, Duke Silver.

Senior Director, People and Culture

Sara Singla

is Senior Director, Executive Programs at Leading Edge.