How to give feedback that lands | Renee St Jacques

Summary

Podcast Summary: TED Business

Episode: "How to give feedback that lands" | Renee St Jacques

Date: July 6, 2026

Host: Modupe Akinola
Guest Speaker: Renee St Jacques, Executive Coach

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Overview

This episode delves into the art and science of giving feedback that truly makes a difference in the workplace. Renee St Jacques, an executive coach and psychologist, challenges the ubiquitous "feedback sandwich" and introduces her research-backed “Three Cs” framework: Connect, Correct, Cultivate. The conversation emphasizes emotional intelligence (EQ) as the foundation for effective feedback and sustainable leadership. After Renee’s talk, host Modupe Akinola shares her practical approach to cultivating growth during feedback conversations.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Problem with the Feedback Sandwich

• Background Story:
  Renee opens with a real-world coaching scenario involving a manager and employee suffering from misaligned expectations due to the use of the "praise-criticism-praise" feedback sandwich.
  • “The manager admitted using the feedback sandwich...leading to false expectations. Despite the manager's good intentions, the impact was damaging.” (05:15)
• Result:
  Misuse led to burnout, breakdown in trust, and unmet organizational goals.

2. Emotional Intelligence Drives Results

• Research Connection:
  “Decades of research show that EQ can boost profitability.” (06:10)
• Personal Impact:
  “I witnessed firsthand how low EQ can leave a negative legacy… as a psychologist and executive coach, I'm passionate about bridging theory and practice.” (06:35)

3. The Three Cs Framework: Connect, Correct, Cultivate

C1: Connect

• Definition: Building psychological safety and valuing team members not just for what they do, but who they are.
• Key Practice:
  • Use curiosity, open-ended questions (“Can you help me understand?”), and reflective listening to make employees feel heard.
  • "Connection is what unlocks high performance because it creates psychological safety, a key driver to team success.” (07:40)
  • “Correction without connection feels like rejection.” (09:05)
• Example:
  Instead of immediately correcting, take time to understand underlying struggles (e.g., imposter syndrome, personal issues).

C2: Correct

• Definition: Providing clear, kind, actionable feedback focused on behaviors, not the person.
• Best Practices:
  • Avoid hinting or vagueness: “Vague feedback equals vague commitment equals zero chance of change.” (12:01)
  • Shift language: Use “and” instead of “but”; use “we” instead of “you.”
    • “Your client dedication is impressive and can we collaborate to improve communication?” (13:15)
  • Correction must come after connection to avoid feelings of shame.
• Psychological Roots:
  • Feedback sits “at the intersection of two competing human needs: to learn and grow, and to be enough just as we are.” (12:20)

C3: Cultivate

• Definition: Ongoing coaching and support to foster team and individual growth.
• Guidelines:
  • Don’t wait for annual reviews—give real-time, informal, frequent feedback.
  • Use coaching questions: “What do you think we should do?”
• Metaphor:
  “Just like a garden needs ongoing care to flourish, leadership potential is cultivated by ongoing coaching.” (14:10)
• End Goal:
  Create a culture of ownership, not burnout.

4. Why Emotional Intelligence Isn’t Fluff

• “I know firsthand that emotional intelligence is our greatest strategy to results. Because our work is only as good as our work with other people.” (15:45)
• Legacy Question:
  “What kind of legacy do you want to leave as a leader? … Will it transcend to the how—through connection we created an impact that truly mattered?” (16:55)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Correction without connection feels like rejection.” — Renee St Jacques (09:05)
• “Sometimes we have to go slow to go fast. And trust is an accelerator to business results.” — Renee St Jacques (08:10)
• “Hinting doesn’t work. Effective correction balances clarity and kindness.” — Renee St Jacques (12:46)
• “We may excel in one [of the Cs], but the truth? They're like a tripod. If we don't excel in all three, our ability to activate leadership falls apart.” (14:50)
• “We’re not just leaders, we’re cycle breakers.” — Renee St Jacques (16:35)

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Host Reflections & Practical Tips

Segment: [19:08]

• Focus on Cultivate:
  Modupe describes how she asks, “What can I do to make your life easier?” at the end of feedback sessions to promote reciprocity and accountability.

  • “It opens up a line for more honest conversation...And sometimes what they ask for is something I can’t give, but it becomes something we can negotiate over.” (19:20)
  • Even when unable to deliver on a request, she seeks to explain why or offer alternatives.

• The Value of Direct Feedback:

  • “Clear direct feedback is often a way of showing care, even when it’s not universally positive. It’s a way of making someone feel seen at work. And we all want that.” (20:08)

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Key Timestamps

• 05:15: Renee St Jacques begins her TED Talk.
• 08:10: The "Connect" phase and the importance of psychological safety.
• 09:05: The need for connection before correction.
• 12:01: Why vague feedback fails.
• 12:46: Clarity and kindness in correction.
• 14:10: Introduces "Cultivate" and continuous feedback.
• 16:35: Renee’s closing legacy challenge for leaders.
• 19:08: Modupe Akinola’s mini-lesson and practical feedback advice.

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Conclusion

Renee St Jacques and Modupe Akinola illuminate why emotional intelligence is at the heart of effective feedback. The Three Cs—Connect, Correct, Cultivate—provide a practical roadmap for leaders aiming to build trust, provide growth-oriented feedback, and nurture workplace cultures that thrive. Rather than just hitting performance goals, the episode encourages listeners to consider the legacy of connection and care they create through their leadership.

Transcript

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[Medupa Akinola]

Many of you know that I study stress and the different contexts where stressors show up. I've been doing this long enough to know what really stresses me out. And one of those things is giving feedback. Don't get me wrong, receiving feedback isn't always a walk in the park either. When you're waiting to hear about how something's going or how you're performing, you never know what's coming your way. But still, I do have a harder time giving feedback. It's such a tough balance to strike. How can you be honest but still motivating? How can you be firm but also understanding? It's hard to override the feeling of wanting to be liked. And it's hard to deliver candid feedback without feeling like you're hurting someone's feelings. I'm Madupa Akinola. This is TED Business, a podcast from Ted. Our speaker today, executive coach Rene St. Jacques, says that strong feedback is the product of strong emotional intelligence. EQ isn't just the stuff of fluff, it's a real determinant of workplace profitability. And when it comes to crafting careful feedback, she recommends throwing out the stale feedback sandwich and replacing it with the three Cs. Then after the talk, I'll discuss my approach to giving feedback. But first, a quick break. This episode is brought to you by Pakka I'm always on the hunt for those staple pieces I can easily pack and know I'll be comfortable no matter what I'm doing. At this point, I don't travel anywhere without my Paca hoodie and original crew sweater. They're both made with the same care and unmistakable softness. Paca creates outdoor and lifestyle apparel from alpaca fiber, one of the most sustainable natural fibers on the planet. Their signature hoodie is unbelievably soft, warmer than wool, yet still breathable enough to wear through whatever the day brings. It's built for real life, thermo regulating, odor resistant, durable, and made to last. And I'm not the only one who loves it. More than 250,000 people have already picked up theirs. Once you feel the quality of Paca, you'll understand why people keep coming back. To grab your Packa hoodie, go to www.packaapparel.com. that's www.pakaapparel.com.

[Capital One Bank Narrator]

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[Medupa Akinola]

And now Rene St Jacques takes the Ted stage.

[Rene St. Jacques]

A few years ago, I found myself individually coaching both a manager and an employee at the same time. The employee was super confident she get promoted, whereas the manager privately shared with me that she had no plans to do so. Why the disconnect? The manager admitted using the feedback sandwich technique, which is praise feedback. Then Praise again, embedding that critical feedback in the praise leading to false expectations. Despite the manager's good intentions, the impact was damaging. There was burnout for the manager for overcompensating. There was a breakdown in trust for the employee and ultimately unachieved goals for the organization. Having coached hundreds of leaders, this is just one of many examples that I've encountered where low emotional intelligence EQ for short, leads to low results. That's no surprise given the decades of research that show that EQ can boost profitability. My fascination with human behavior started at an early age where amidst family dysfunction, I witnessed firsthand how low EQ can leave a negative legacy. And now as a psychologist, as an executive coach, I'm passionate about drawing from my unique corporate and counseling background to bridge theory and practice. When it comes to teams managers, I see you with the pressure to meet bottom line goals. You often have to do more with less. But what got you here? Excelling as an individual contributor, doing things yourself won't get you success as a manager. As a leader, your impact is measured by what you achieve through your team. But let's be honest, increasing the intrinsic motivation and accountability of your team isn't always easy, especially when there's resistance or a breakdown in trust. How do you drive results? By unlocking the leadership potential of every team member, no matter their title. I believe it begins by elevating your emotional intelligence with three key skills. Connect, correct and cultivate. These three Cs make up a research backed framework called Leadership Activated that I've developed to help leaders practically build trust, guide behavior and foster growth. The first C is Connect. An executive once asked me to repurpose her session time to coach a seasoned employee of hers whose performance was declining. But as soon as I got into session, I knew she didn't need coaching on her external skills. She needed coaching to really uncover the internal factors influencing her performance. Connection is what unlocks high performance because it creates psychological safety, a key driver to team success where individuals feel freedom to communicate without fear. Research also shows that the number one factor to job satisfaction is not our pay, but how valued and appreciated we feel. Sometimes we have to go slow to go fast. And trust is an accelerator to business results. And we build trust when we take the time to connect. What would it look like for this manager to connect? Because I see a lot of managers push without connection and what happens is that the behavior gets worse because correction without connection feels like rejection. Connection is what separates our work from our worth. It's about valuing people not just for what they do, but who they are. The best practice here is when you use a tone of curiosity. You can say something like I want you to know it's safe to share or use open ended questions like can you help me understand? Or use phrases like I see you, I hear you. That's hard. All while paraphrasing back to make the employee feel heard. And when we do, the magic here is that we uncover the root issue. Maybe it's imposter syndrome. Maybe it's a personal issue at play. What makes them feel valued? What motivates them all without fixing, lecturing or using the information against them in any way. It's about talking with them, not at them. And sometimes we find what is part of it contributing to this resistance. It's actually us. Lean in to that insight. It's a gift. Instead of defending your intention model, owning your impact, saying something like it looks like I need to work on that goes a long way. The first C connect is not a nice to have, even if it takes more than one meeting. The only goal is to make the employee feel seen. And while that's essential, not providing any developmental guidance is actually coddling. The second C is correct. I once coached a brilliant coo, but he would redo his team's work instead of correcting them. His over functioning enabled their under functioning. The story he told himself was feedback was hurting people. But when you look at the definition of a manager, which is to steward the organization's goals through people, feedback given with psychological safety is actually empowering. Now that we've separated work from worth, we can have a compassionate focus on behavior. Remember, we are correcting the behavior, not the person. What would it look like for this manager to correct? Well, one thing I see a lot of managers do is hint. Hinting doesn't work. Effective correction balances clarity and kindness. No one can read your mind. Instead of saying deadlines are important, we can say the deadline was X. This was submitted on Y. We need all deadlines met from now on because of Z impact. Authors Heen and Stone break down the psychology behind why we do this. The feedback sits at the intersection of two competing human needs. On one hand we want to learn and grow. On another hand, we want to be worthy and enough just the way we are. Without change, vague feedback equals vague commitment equals zero chance of change. And no one is motivated by shame. So managers are so much more successful when they use the word and instead of but we instead of you. Your client dedication is impressive and can we collaborate to improve communication. Unlike the ineffective feedback sandwich, the first C connect establishes enough trust for the second C correct, which is that clear kind guidance. And because connect and correct is not a one and done, the third C is cultivate. Just like a garden needs ongoing care to flourish, leadership potential is cultivated by ongoing coaching. Yet many managers will wait until the last minute to a year end review to give vague feedback which of course erodes trust. Whereas research shows that real time informal, frequent feedback is far more effective. And when we ask our teams open ended coaching questions like what do you think we should do? It empowers a whole team to step up with solutions which unlocks the leadership potential of both our team as well as our own. Because we're trading in burnout for a culture of ownership, this talk is actually not about feedback or the latest management trend. Connect, correct and cultivate are these three Cs that we may excel in one, but the truth? They're like a tripod. And if we don't excel, if we in all three of them, our ability to activate leadership falls apart. But you may think that EQ is fluff that a focus on people moves us further away from the bottom line. However, I am in the trenches with leaders daily and I know firsthand that emotional intelligence is our greatest strategy to results. Because our work is only as good as our work with other people. The secret to high performance is simple. We raise the intrinsic motivation and accountability of our teams when they first feel seen, heard and valued. However, leadership isn't just about performance. I know firsthand that low EQ can create cycles of mistrust, disconnection and pain. I dream of a healthier world where we don't just push on the world changing missions of our organizations, but the accelerated and unprecedented paced results through non human means. We must anchor those achievements in what is uniquely human. Not replacing, but retaining connection as the cornerstone and the launching pad to all of our progress. I believe we can raise the emotional intelligence of entire workplaces to make them as kind as they are effective. To create an impact that's both measurable and meaningful. We're not just leaders, we're cycle breakers. So today I'm asking you, what kind of legacy do you want to leave as a leader? Will it be defined solely by the what the bottom line goals? Or will it transcend to the how how? Through connection we created an impact that truly mattered. Together we can architect the leadership of tomorrow. Thank you.

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[Rene St. Jacques]

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[Medupa Akinola]

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[Medupa Akinola]

That was Renee St Jacques at Tedx Fiesole. I want to focus on that last c Cultivate and talk a little bit about how I incorporate it into my feedback approach. One of the things I always do at the end of a feedback session is say, what can I do to make your life easier? Or what do you need from me? It's my way of owning my own impact in the relationship and my responsibility in the workplace. And it opens up a line for more honest conversation where the person I'm giving feedback can give feedback to me. And sometimes what they ask for is something I can't give, but it becomes something we can negotiate over or talk about. Frankly, if I'm unable to meet the need, I always give them a specific reason why or offer something else that's aligned with their request. For instance, I once had somebody who wasn't my direct report ask for regular meetings. My schedule just couldn't accommodate that. But I asked if it would be okay for us to have quarterly meetings, and they said yes. We both walked away from that interaction feeling satisfied. Clear direct feedback is often a way of showing care, even when it's not universally positive. It's a way of making someone feel seen at work. And we all want that. That's it for today. TED Business is part of the TED Audio Collective. This episode was produced by Hannah Kingsley Ma Edited by Alejandra Salazar and Fact Checked by Julia Dickory. Special thanks to Maria Ladias, Farrah de Grunge, Daniela Valarezo, Tantika Sagmani Vong and Roxanne Hylash. I'm Medupa Akinola. Thanks for listening.

[Capital One Bank Narrator]

With no fees or minimums on checking accounts, it's no wonder the Capital One bank guy is so passionate about banking with Capital One. If he were here, he wouldn't just tell you about no fees or minimums. He'd also talk about how most Capital One cafes are open seven days a week to assist with your banking needs. Yep, even on weekends, it's pretty much all he talks about in a good way. What's in your wallet? Terms apply. See capitalone.com bank capital1na member FDIC

[Rene St. Jacques]

he's

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