Lisa Friscia

What To Do When Feedback Doesn't Stick

Strategic Advisor, Fractional Chief People Officer & Leadership Coach

Learn a simple framework to quickly identify if the issue was your message, the employee’s mindset, or the mechanics of

Diagnose why feedback didn’t stick

Practice using curiosity and clarity to reframe feedback conversations without repeating yourself or getting defensive,

Repair in the moment

Discover how to surface hidden friction, co-own next steps, and set lightweight follow-up so feedback actually leads to

Convert the conversation into action

You want to present your ideas and opinions with unshakable confidence. You want to feel powerful in every room or zoom, but sometimes, when the moment is at hand, you start second-guessing yourself. You want to be both assertive yet kind. But you also don’t want to come across as pushy or a pushover. Maybe you’ve even spent the night counting the opportunities you missed instead of counting sheep. Or worse, you spent the night spiraling about that thing you regret saying.&nbsp;&nbsp;In this course, you'll learn how to step up without stepping on toes, inspire your employees to take meaningful action and captivate your boss with your words so your ideas are heard and valued. Whether you are delivering a presentation, leading a meeting, or having a difficult 1:1 feedback conversation, I’ll give you frameworks to help you with what to say and how to say it so you’re not just part of the conversation but leading it.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Every lesson is live and is packed with opportunities to practice and refine your communication skills. You’ll learn how to take up space in the “right way.” And how to get your employees to be thanking YOU when you ask them to take on another project.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;You will develop the communication skills that will help you drive your team’s success and earn that next promotion or raise!&nbsp; Cohort Time: Tuesdays at 2:30pm EST

The Ultimate Leadership Edge

Course Syllabus

Four 1-hour-long workshops<ul><li>Manager Mindset</li><li>Fruitful Feedback</li><li>Spellbinding Strategy &amp; Defining Decisions</li><li>Confident Collaboration</li></ul>

Tuesdays

Compact learning format for busy professionals

No required homework

Every session is recorded, so you can watch it on your own if you can't make the live session.

Can't make a session?

Course schedule

First-time managers (Congrats!) Develop the critical skills that differentiate a follower from a leader

Startup founders &amp; business ownersBuild a culture that will empower your employees to create their best work

Experienced leaders with a new team Quickly ﻿establish trust, improve productivity and amplify your influence

Who is this course for

You'll learn how to ...

Discover the most costly communication mistake most managers make in giving feedback and the seven-step formula to spark change.

Give feedback that actually results in change

Understand the psychology underneath great storytelling. Learn the technique politicians like Barack Obama use to make your message stick with limited time.

Develop spellbinding presentations & pep talks

The 5 key questions that will transform your relationship with your direct reports. Plus, the simple communication checklist that will help you optimize every meeting.

Run effective 1:1s & efficient meetings

Why trying only to control your employees is a waste of time and what you need to say instead that actually increases accountability and improves trust.

Improve employee engagement and productivity

The secret the best conflict negotiators know to surface issues before they become problems.

Breakdown unproductive conflicts and avoid misunderstandings

The simple tip for converting any task or project into a hero’s mission that employees want to take on.

Inspire employees with a clear & compelling mission

The 5-part formula to take your boss from questioning your ideas to following them.

Manage up with grace & power

Many people think charisma is only for extroverts, but I’ll give you two simple tools to increase your likability instantly. In the course you’ll get scripts and formulas to help you get started. And don’t worry, we’ll practice so you can sound natural when you use them.

Level up your confidence and charisma

🚀 Learn the 8 critical skills to make you a confident and compelling leader. 

Jess Goldberg

Teaches communication skills  @ Columbia University, Executive Coach & former VP in AI Robotics 

July 2025

October 2025

Managers and leaders are not taught how to deliver feedback that changes behavior and drives performance. The result? Managers gets frustrated when people don't implement feedback and performance and business results suffer. It doesn't need to be this way. You can transform the way you manage and become the manager who shares direct feedback and drives results. You can get there in this course. You will become more confident and competent sharing feedback fearlessly. WHAT TO EXPECT: Tactics you can implement immediately. Sessions are loaded with lively discussion, breakout exercises, and a 27-page learning guide to both personalize and customize your learning experience. In just 3 sessions, you will have more tools in your tool belt to more effectively drive performance on your team. COURSE CONTENT: • How to speak candidly, and with care, using the Fearless Feedback Model• How to structure feedback using Headline, Observation, Ask• How to navigate reactions using HEAR• How to identify the core behavior needing to be addressed using Name It To Tame It• How to shift to a High Cadence, Low Stakes mental model• How to lay a foundation for feedback with the Relationship Kickoff Conversation• How to view feedback as information to be shared to help someone be their best• How to lead as a human with standards of excellence You can also expect: - A 27-page learning guide loaded with sample language, exercises, and reference materials to leverage well beyond the course- Videos modeling the Headline, Observation, Ask model- Video modeling how to navigate reactions to feedback- Video illustrating how to effectively kick off a feedback relationship with a new team member- Drafting feedback for real time situations you're facing How you view delivering feedback as a manager and leader will fundamentally change. You will have greater confidence and competence opening a feedback conversation, delivering direct and caring feedback, and navigating emotional reactions to your message. Invest in the skills that will truly elevate you and your team's business impact.

Drive stronger performance with actionable feedback.

Course syllabus

Before each session, you will have 1-2 pre-session videos to watch. These videos model the concepts we'll be learning in our live sessions.The first session's videos take ~20 min, after that, they're just ~5 min.

Pre-Work Videos & Materials

We kick off our course by exploring the impact Mindset and Relationship have on feedback delivery. Learn 1 core perspective shift, 3 mindset tactics, and then how to lead the Relationship Kickoff Conversation.

Tues, Oct 21, 2025

This will be the meatiest session with feedback model exploration and you'll walk away with new language and tools to immediately have more impactful conversations.

Thurs, Oct 23, 2025

Bring it all together with tools to handle reactions and even more practice and discussion to enable you to graduate as a Fearless Deliverer of Feedback.

Tues, Oct 28, 2025

You are a manager within a start-up &amp; pace of business can feel impossible to give real time feedback to both direct &amp; indirect reports.

You're a leader who finds yourself putting off feedback conversations out of dread, fear, or lack of confidence.

You are a manager wanting to elevate your career by distinguishing yourself as a developer of great talent.

Who will thrive in this courses:

What you can expect from this course:

You will practice addressing the hardest feedback conversations: giving feedback on defensiveness, lack of strategic thinking, a need for greater flexibility, and more. We're not practicing the easy conversations, we're focusing on the conversations we avoid most.

Practice the most difficult types of feedback conversations

Beyond the live sessions, you will walk away with an invaluable resource, the Deliver Fearless Feedback learning guide. Filled with the HOA framework, HEAR model for handling reactions, and 6 examples of sample feedback.

27-page learning guide packed with frameworks and sample langauge

You will adopt the Fearless Feedback Model and learn to operate at the intersection of Mindset, Relationship, and Delivery. These combined enable a manager and leader to say what needs to be said to help someone achieve their highest impact.

Begin delivering difficult feedback fearlessly

You'll learn to streamline your feedback using the Headline, Observation, Ask model. Each step will empower you to strategically engineer a more positive and productive reception, and perception, of your feedback.

Deconstruct the core elements of successful feedback conversations

When someone provides excuses, cries, or gets defensive, you will be equipped with the HEAR model. You will learn to stay true to your north star and not get sucked into tennis match type conversations.

Develop your ability to successfully handle reactions to feedback

You will create a new internal narrative on what it means to deliver tough feedback. You will feel empowered to engage, discuss, and share feedback that will help your people be their best, and help you drive a culture you're proud of.

Increase your confidence & competence

You will elevate to your next level of management and leadership by distinguishing yourself as someone who fearlessly develops your people to reach their best version of themselves.

Distinguish yourself as a developer of people

Transform your management by driving stronger performance through direct and actionable feedback.

Katie Ceccarini

August 2025

Does this sound familiar? You’re expected to deliver more with less. Fewer people, tighter deadlines - and now AI is somehow your problem too. Your team depends on you for everything, and senior leaders have crazy expectations. You’re working harder than ever, but still feel like you’re not doing enough. You barely have time to think, let alone grow. And when things slip, you’re the one who has to explain. You don’t need another framework -you need a practical system that actually works. You’ll learn how to get your team moving without needing you in every step, how to build trust with leadership so they stop second-guessing you, and how to finally carve out time for your own growth. Together, we will:✅ Build a personal focus map that shows your blind spots and where to aim your efforts✅ Raise your team’s visibility - and your own - across the company✅ Create clear plans for each engineer, based on what actually motivates them✅ Connect your engineering work to business outcomes people care about I know you don’t have full days to spare. That’s why this course is built as a tight, practical program - no filler, no theory for theory’s sake. 6 super-focused sessions, each designed to give you tools you can use the next day. Here’s what we’ll cover: Session 1: Managing Engineers (Without Losing Your Mind)- The 3 drivers behind every engineer and how to spot them- Map your team using a simple grid, so you know what makes each person tick- Tactical ways to keep people motivated - without needing a new budget or promotion cycle- How to help your employees create a system that fits THEM (focused on day-to-day, not career growth with KPIs) Session 2: A Motivated Team That Delivers- Team meetings and focus days: two simple levers you’re probably - underusing.- The “Always Green” system: how to make sure you are meeting the executives' expectations- Tech debt + morale: match people to work they care about - and how to fix tech debt and morale at the same time.- The knowledge mapping method - how to measure your team as a whole and find the gaps to take your team forward Session 3: Your Own Growth- The EM Grid system: we'll create a map of where your current focus lies, and what are your blind spots.- The slow death of the hands-on EM: How to stay technical enough to be useful, without getting in the way.- How to avoid the ‘victim trap’ of engineering managers. Session 4: Building Visibility Across The Org- Getting taken seriously outside engineering: The simplest way to build trust with non-tech stakeholders.- Make some noise: Why it’s not enough to “just do the work” anymore - and how to make sure people actually notice.- Leadership trust: How to get senior leadership to take you seriously, know your name, and ask your input before making decisions that hit your team.- Other EMs: Why building real relationships with other EMs matters more than you think - and how to start. Session 5: Real Problems, Real Time- Decision Making 101: Recap of the approaches to solve problems from the best leaders in the world- We’ll focus on solving YOUR real challenges by applying the tools and tactics from the course. Session 6: Driving Real Impact- Product: How to stop launching features no one uses.- Business: Make your work matter to people outside your team.- Industry: Know your space well enough to be taken seriously.- PM partnerships: what a real partnership looks like and how to build one. Every day will have an optional 30 minute Q&amp;A session, to make sure you will be able to actually apply the lessons in your specific scenario.

Build a motivated team that’s trusted by leadership and runs without you.

This course is aimed at active Engineering Managers. We won't cover getting promoted to that role, and neither job searching.

Directly Managing Engineers

You should have at least a few years of experience in the role you are managing (Software/data/QA etc). 

Not covering outsider challenges.

Technical background

If your events are recurring and at the same time, it might be easiest to use a single line item to communicate your course schedule to students

Tuesdays & Thursdays

Feel free to type out dates as your title as a way to communicate information about specific live sessions or other events.

May 7, 2022

Schedule items can also be used to convey commitments outside of specific time slots (like weekly projects or daily office hours).

Weekly projects

You are an Engineering Manager and you want to have a bigger say on things beyond your own team.

You have 2-10 years of management experience. You know the basics and you're ready to grow beyond the day-to-day and take the next step.

You manage 3-12 engineers, and don't have enough hours to do the kind of work you want to do.

What you’ll walk away with:

You’ll use the EM Grid to build a clear snapshot of where your time goes - across work like growing your people, shipping projects, or building relationships - and at different levels (you, your team, the org). You’ll spot what’s missing and where to shift focus.

A personal focus map to spot your blind spots and redirect your time to what actually moves the needle

You’ll learn how to get leadership to notice the work your team is doing — without begging for credit or flooding Slack. Expect specific tactics you can use to build trust and make sure your team isn’t overlooked.

A system to raise visibility for you and your team - without chasing credit or cringe

You’ll learn how to map each engineer to what they actually care about - and use that to assign work in a way that drives motivation, delivers results, and takes A LOT off your plate.

A plan to motivate each engineer on your team in a way that drives results (and frees you up)

We’ll break down how to understand the product, business, and industry context around your specific product and company - and how to tie your team’s output to metrics business stakeholders company actually care about. This applies even if your team is “infra” or “internal”.

A method to connect your work to business outcomes in your specific scenario

Learn the system to always deliver high-impact results as an EM under pressure.

Anton Zaides

September 2025

October

The ChallengeYour days are filled with:🗓️ back-to-back meetings,🚀 sky-high customer or investor expectations,⏱️ wishes that your team could move faster sooner,🔥 wishes that you could move even faster and work on what really matters instead of fighting fires. You start each day with the best intentions, but somehow find yourself constantly reacting instead of leading.&nbsp;Sure, it would be nice to focus on your own goals, but you care about those other people (or at least some of them 😁). They’re colleagues and customers, family and friends... How can you collaborate with them responsively without forsaking your goals and becoming just a (re-)Actor in their story? 🎬 ✨ You wonder if AI can help, you wonder how other leaders are using AI to manage it all and manage their teams—but honestly, who's got the time to figure that out? ⏳ You have a constant, lurking anxiety about what’s falling through the cracks or not getting done, so you work faster. As you try to move faster, people fall short of your expectations and their potential. It causes friction and frustration (even if you hide it well). It's uncomfortable to call out, so you avoid giving feedback or mention it lightly, which makes the situation more uncomfortable. Eventually, you decide to give feedback. Sometimes it goes okay. Often, you try to move through and out of the conversation as quickly as possible because it feels so awkward. Growth and improvements rarely last. You take on more work yourself to get it done. The Solution (Evidence-based. Immediately applicable.)⏱️&nbsp;EVERYTHING YOU READ BELOW WILL BE ORIENTED TO IMMEDIATE APPLICATION DURING THE COURSE ⏱️What if you could shift from reacting to the constant inputs to creating what matters most and leading your team in that direction--everyday? This course will support you, step by step, in building your Operating System to make this shift. Fancy apps aren't enough. Nor are bursts of motivation. A sustainable Operating System has 3 features:🧰 Tools (simple enough to keep using, and amplified by AI)🔁&nbsp;Habits (the tools don't use themselves...except for some of the AI ones we'll build)🧠 Mindsets (you can "productively" spend your life responding to other people's messages and requests--or build something that matters) No, "perfection" isn't possible (or even desirable). But our days--and our results--completely shift when we focus our attention systematically instead of ad-hoc and reactively. And our conversations shift when we stop trying to fix people and start inspiring them to take action and grow. We teach you how to do this by using straightforward approaches that reliably transform defensiveness and friction into self-reflection, connection, and motivation to grow. You will start to look forward to feedback conversations because you will know how to use them as powerful tools for building trust and deepening connection. You will also explore your own mindsets and beliefs around feedback, identifying your own patterns around conflict avoidance, people-pleasing, and controlling behaviors. AI is woven throughout the course, including:1️⃣ building your own Custom GPTs2️⃣&nbsp;mastering your calendar3️⃣ using AI as a practice partner for difficult conversations and coaching skills4️⃣ helping your team use AI, and so much more! Once you've shifted the way you manage yourself and lead your team conversations, applying evidence-based approaches tested with 1000s of managers and amplified with AI, the whole game becomes fun again. Bonus:📝 You will also get 5 step-by-step facilitation guides for sharing and teaching your team members everything we cover in this course. This helps establish shared language and frameworks within your team/organization, and positions you as the leader of change. 📖&nbsp;You'll also get our 20-page Offsite Playbook with step-by-step guidance on how to design and facilitate unforgettable team and company gatherings. 🚀 And you'll get to do this while in a practice lab with other high-growth leaders.

Spend your days fighting fires or each other?

Tuesdays (+ 1 Thursday)

Weekly Office Hours

High-Growth ManagersReady to move out of IC mode, you want to be the inspiring leader people thank for the rest of their careers.

ExecutivesYou know there's a better way than back-to-back meetings everyday. To scale your impact, you know you must scale yourself first

Startup FoundersYou're expanding your focus from building a product to building a team. And to do so, you need the team to step up fast.

What you’ll get out of this course

You'll have the Inner and Outer Game in place:<ul><li>A systematic set of habits, tools, and mindsets to define What Matters Most each day and week</li><li>You'll be using your emotions as signals for what needs to happen next</li><li>Your mind will be at ease</li></ul>

Clear Focus & Emotional Balance

Whether you're currently intimidated by AI, curious, or all-in, you will:<ul><li>know exactly how to leverage Claude and ChatGPT to improve your skills and help you prepare for key conversations</li><li>have your own CustomGPT to do a recurring management task FOR you</li></ul>

AI As Your Ally (including your own CustomGPT)

<ul><li>Next Actions template (simplest tool possible to stay organized)</li><li>Weekly Preview Checklist (define what matters most and who should do it)</li><li>Daily Defining Checklist</li></ul>

The Operating System (feel on top of your s***)

<ul><li>Know how to decide WHAT to delegate to increase your leverage</li><li>Know HOW to delegate (to a person or AI) in ways that build confidence and follow-through</li></ul>

The Leverage Framework

<ul><li>GAIN Template for how to structure feedback conversations that inspire response-ability, action, and growth</li><li>how to use AI to prepare and practice</li></ul>

GAIN Feedback Framework

<ul><li>GROW Template for coaching conversations</li><li>The key skill to coach effectively</li><li>Know the difference between a feedback and a coaching conversation</li><li>how to use AI to practice and get feedback on a coaching conversation</li></ul>

GROW Coaching Framework

What if you felt on top of everything?
What if your team were aligning and growing through every conversation with you?

Lightning Lessons

What To Do When Feedback Doesn't Stick