A feedback culture in an organization

You get home from a long day at work and take quick look in the mirror. You notice a big piece of spinach (or kale, whatever you prefer) in your teeth. You remember you had a salad for lunch and then spent the entire afternoon in a meeting with three other people. Surely someone (probably all of them) noticed the big green piece of food in your mouth! Yikes, no one told you! Wouldn’t you have liked to have known (received feedback from others)?

According to a career-builder survey of American workers, only two-thirds of employees would tell a peer (someone at the same level or below) that they had spinach in their teeth, and only one-half would tell their boss or someone higher up in the organization! Why don’t people tell someone they have spinach in their teeth (give feedback to others), and why does it matter what role the person has in the company?

Let’s imagine you’ve decided to actually tell someone they have spinach (give feedback). How would you do it?

It’s fairly obvious that giving feedback is useful to people. What ideas would you have help me create a feedback culture in an organization? A culture where giving, and receiving, feedback is openly encourage and welcomed.