Francis Egbuson

Over the past several days, I’ve been giving feedback to my colleagues through the Impact Learning platform—and in the process, I’ve come face-to-face with some uncomfortable truths. The first? I didn’t know some of my colleagues well enough to answer certain questions meaningfully. When asked to assess a colleague’s ability to manage stress or model habits of effectiveness, I struggled. But when prompted to describe a teammate in three to seven words, I felt more confident. This contrast got me thinking: how can we make the act of giving and receiving feedback more routine—something that’s woven into our daily interactions, rather than reserved for formal reviews? Redefining Feedback For this reflection, I define feedback as the regular practice of sharing observations about an individual’s performance—especially in relation to making and keeping high-quality commitments that affect team results. At its best, feedback happens in structured conversations that focus on three key areas: ...

At the Maman Coffee Shop in Union Market on a chilly Washington DC morning earlier today, a young man looking for a phone charger approached me. After someone else offered him a cable, he thanked me for offering to help. Then he asked, "Are you watching something interesting on your laptop?" I responded that I was doing schoolwork. He appeared stunned. "Are you still in school? Wow, you look like you have it all figured out by now." Laughing, I pointed to my fully white-bearded face and asked what made him say that. "Oh no, life is one continuous learning!" I replied. "True," he said as he walked away. This is about the second time I've had this experience. The first was during a conversation with an Uber driver who expressed shock that I was "still in school." These responses surprise me. I've never thought it was too late to learn anything, perhaps because I'm in the learning business, where we partner with individuals and...