The Strong Perspective — Issue 01

ISSUE 01   MAY 2026

THE STRONG PERSPECTIVE

Welcome to the Strong Perspective. We work with leaders in the room, solving real problems every day. This is where we share what we’re learning: the patterns, the breakthroughs, and what’s actually making a difference.

We’re glad you’re here.

WHAT WE’RE SEEING

Employees know feedback matters. They know how to give it. They still don’t do it.

Most organizations diagnose the feedback gap as a knowledge problem. So they run a training, teach a model, and wait for behavior to change. When it doesn’t, they run another training. Training is helpful – yes. But the problem isn’t the training, it’s what’s missing from it: practice.

Think about how we actually get good at hard things. Not by reading about them. By doing them, fumbling, recovering, trying again. A surgeon doesn’t solely read about incisions. A pilot doesn’t just study turbulence from a slide deck. They get reps.

Feedback conversations are no different. They’re hard because they’re high-stakes and the outcome is uncertain. Knowing the framework doesn’t change that. Doing it enough times does.

Most development gives people one hour of practice for every four hours of instruction. We think that’s backwards.

WHAT WE DID ABOUT IT

1 hour of training.
4 hours of practice.

A global media company had 60 leaders heading into performance review season. Feedback wasn’t happening. Not because people lacked awareness. Because they’d never actually practiced the hard conversations in a space where it was safe to get them wrong.

We flipped the ratio with a full solution. One hour building shared language and framework. Four hours of small-group practicums: real scenarios, live coaching, peer observation.

Leaders got reps. They fumbled and recovered. They watched peers handle situations they’d been avoiding and built the kind of muscle memory you can’t get from a slide deck.

The results landed:

WORTH YOUR TIME

MEET

Team Strong’s
Katie DeSimone

Katie brings 15+ years of experience leading teams at global ad agencies. Through a grounded, relational approach, she helps leaders gain clarity, expand choices, and build practical strategies for growth and impact.

MEET THE TEAM

READ

Bend Don’t Break

Strong contributor Matt West makes the case that the future of work belongs to the adaptable, not just the expert, and that in the process of change, what you hold onto matters as much as what you let go of.

GET THE BOOK

REGISTER

Project Management Power Skills

In partnership with the 4A’s, we’re offering another cohort of our course designed for PMs. We’ll help participants take the leap from project manager to project leader in our rapidly changing world.

LEARN MORE

Comfort is a fine place to visit, but not a great place to stay.

SAY HELLO