"What do you have to lose if you go and talk to them?"

"What do you have to lose if you go and talk to them?"

The answer is rarely what you expect.

I ask this when someone keeps postponing a feedback. To a peer, a boss, someone in their team.

The answer is often about hope. They gave that feedback once. Nothing changed. Going back means hoping again, and risking a second disappointment. "What is the point?" feels safer.

Once that fear has a name, we can work on what matters: how to say it so it lands this time.

Managers, the person in your team who never raises an issue with a peer may have tried before. Ask what happened the first time.

What feedback are you holding back, and what would you lose by giving it?