Via Lenny's Podcast

"Fundamentally, the most selfish thing you can do is withhold feedback from someone. Who are you optimizing for when you do that? What are you optimizing for when you think a thought that would help someone improve and you avoid giving it to them because it would make you uncomfortable? Well, you're optimizing for your own comfort. And it's fundamentally selfish."

— 10 contrarian leadership truths every leader needs to hear | Matt MacInnis (Rippling), at 1:11:49

---

Matt MacInnis (Chief Product Officer and former longtime COO at Rippling) is a big advocate for escalating issues and providing direct feedback.

"Fundamentally, the most selfish thing you can do is withhold feedback from someone. When you think a thought that would help someone improve and you avoid giving it to them because it would make you uncomfortable, well, you're optimizing for your own comfort. And it's fundamentally selfish."

Why feedback matters:

• Teams naturally optimize for local comfort over company outcomes
• Without feedback and escalation, dysfunction compounds
• When you withhold feedback to avoid discomfort, you're prioritizing yourself over helping someone grow
• Creating a culture where escalation is expected and feedback is immediate prevents small problems from becoming big ones

The best, high-performing teams have relentless feedback loops and expect people to escalate issues quickly rather than letting them fester.

---