This article is part of a series called, Surface Tension. The introduction article contains links to all other articles.
Most organisations struggle with honest feedback. Hierarchies create power dynamics where upward feedback feels risky, and lateral feedback often remains superficial. The result is a collective blind spot that allows dysfunctional patterns to persist unexamined.
Feedback is particularly challenging because it activates deep anxieties about rejection and belonging. Our brains process social threats similarly to physical threats, making candid feedback neurologically akin to physical danger. This unconscious threat response explains why most feedback initiatives fail despite a rational understanding of their importance.
The "hot seat" approach creates a structured container where executives can give and receive developmental feedback more candidly than ever before.
Unlike typical 360 reviews, which often become politically calculated exercises, the hot seat creates a live, facilitated conversation that makes unconscious patterns immediately visible.
Radical Transparency at Bridgewater
Under Ray Dalio's leadership, Bridgewater Associates institutionalised this practice through its "radical transparency" approach. Meetings often featured recorded "drill-downs" where team members openly discussed performance issues and blind spots. While Bridgewater's approach might seem extreme, its underlying psychological principle is sound—creating a bounded space where normally undiscussable issues become discussable.
"The most valuable insight wasn't the feedback itself, but watching how each leader responded to it," noted one executive who adopted this practice. "Their immediate reactions revealed more about their leadership shadows than years of performance reviews." This real-time observation of defensive patterns creates a powerful learning laboratory that cannot be matched by written feedback.
The Structure of the Hot Seat
The process demands rigorous preparation. Each participant prepares written feedback for others in two categories: "Inspire" (areas where the person creates positive impact) and "Improve" (places where they could be more effective).
The structure is deceptively simple:
- Each person takes a turn in the hot seat
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Each observer provides feedback in two rounds:
- First, stating areas where the person could improve
- Then, sharing areas where the person inspires them
- The recipient's only permitted response is: "Thank you for the feedback."
- No discussion or debate is allowed
This process is robust because it acknowledges two psychological realities: some people are more comfortable giving or receiving negative feedback, while others prefer giving or receiving positive feedback. The structure ensures that both forms are shared.
More importantly, prohibiting discussion prevents the natural defensive reactions that typically derail feedback conversations.
Breaking Through Team Dysfunction
The process elevates team candour by directly addressing the psychological safety aspects identified in research by Google's Project Aristotle and reinforced by Patrick Lencioni's work on team dysfunction. The format breaks through the "absence of trust" and "fear of conflict" Lencioni identifies as the foundation of team dysfunction.
Implementation Insight: Running Your First Hot Seat
Begin with thorough preparation guided by a facilitator experienced in running the process.
Have each team member prepare written "Inspire" and "Improve" feedback for each colleague based only on personally observed behaviours.
Schedule a dedicated session (ideally offsite) with a trusted facilitator who can maintain psychological safety while ensuring the process remains focused and adheres strictly to the format.
Remind participants they only need to respond with "Thank you for the feedback"—a simple acknowledgement that paradoxically creates deeper reflection than would occur in a defensive exchange.
After the session, encourage participants to notice both what they will keep the same and what they will change based on the feedback.
Remember that contradictions in feedback are normal and provide valuable information about how different people experience the same behaviour.
The most powerful insights often come from observing patterns across multiple people's feedback rather than from any single comment.
You need a facilitator to run this process effectively. Their role is to ensure that the setup is done diligently, there is clarity and respect throughout the process, and to catch and effectively manage emotions that often emerge.
The video below will explain in more detail how to set up and run a hot seat.
Case Study: Transforming Executive Dynamics
One executive team I worked with had operated for years with a veneer of collegiality that masked deep tensions. Their annual retreat featured social activities and strategic discussions but avoided direct feedback on leadership effectiveness.
When they agreed to implement the hot seat, the initial resistance was palpable. "We already have performance reviews," insisted one executive. "This seems unnecessarily confrontational," worried another.
Yet after experiencing the process, the same executives reported profound shifts. "I've worked with Sarah for eight years," noted one leader, "but this is the first time I've heard directly how my interrupting behaviour impacts her thinking." Another reflected, "I've received pages of 360 feedback throughout my career, but never understood my impact as clearly as I did in those fifteen minutes."
The process revealed an executive team operating with fundamentally different assumptions about decision-making authority, risk tolerance, and collaboration—differences that had never been explicitly discussed despite years of working together.
Within months, the team reported faster decision-making, more constructive conflict, and greater creativity in problem-solving. These outcomes didn't emerge from the feedback itself but from breaking through the surface tension that had maintained their carefully managed interactions.
Looking Ahead: From Candour to Systemic Leadership
The hot seat process creates a powerful foundation for our final strategy in this series. By breaking through the barriers to honest communication, leaders develop the capacity for more sophisticated approaches to organisational dynamics.
In our next article, we'll explore Strategy Eight: Make Leadership Explicit - The DAC Model as a Practical Diagnostic—how moving beyond individual heroics to a systems view of leadership creates the conditions for sustainable organisational performance.
The candour developed through the hot seat prepares teams to engage with the Direction-Alignment-Commitment model in ways that transform not just individual leadership but the quality of leadership throughout the system.