Have you ever filled out an employee survey and wondered what happened to it? Katherine tackles a problem she sees leaders miss constantly: when people give feedback, they aren't just waiting for action, they're waiting to know something happened because they spoke. When that follow-up never comes, employees stop believing their input matters, even when leadership actually did act on it.

Katherine breaks down why invisible action looks like no action, and walks through three habits for closing that loop: making the return part of the ask up front, reporting back on themes rather than responding to every comment individually, and explaining the no when a request isn't going to happen. She ties it together with a simple framework called the return rule, four things every leader should communicate back after asking for input: we heard you, here's what we learned, here's what we're doing, and here's what we're not doing and why.

Additional Resources:

Connect with Katherine Coble on LinkedIn

Learn more about Borshoff

Follow PeopleForward Network on LinkedIn

Learn more about PeopleForward Network

Key Takeaways:

• Invisible action looks like no action. Employees disengage not because leaders failed to act, but because leaders failed to communicate that they acted.
• Make the return part of the ask: tell people when and how they'll hear back before they even give feedback.
• Report back on themes, not every comment. People want to know what patterns you heard, not a response to each individual note.
• Explain the no. A thoughtful no builds more trust than silence ever will.
• The return rule: we heard you, here's what we learned, here's what we're doing, and here's what we're not doing and why.