Last year I delivered a training session across the agency on one of our values: Truth Kindly Told. Of all our values, this is the one that makes people sit up a little straighter.
Most values are easy to nod along to. Be collaborative. Be ambitious. Do great work. Lovely. But “tell the truth kindly”? That’s where it gets uncomfortable. Because telling the truth often means giving feedback. And giving feedback means risking someone taking it personally, getting defensive, or feeling knocked.
In the training, I shared a structured framework for feedback. It’s simple and widely used:
- Start with the facts.
- Explain the impact.
- Work towards a solution together.
It’s practical. It’s clear. And in most departments, it works brilliantly.
Then I ran the session with our creative team.
And that’s where it got interesting.
When “facts” aren’t always factual
In finance or operations, feedback can usually be anchored in something tangible. A missed deadline. An incorrect figure. A process that wasn’t followed.
Creative work doesn’t behave like that.
Creative work lives in a space that is partly objective and partly instinctive. Yes, there is a brief. There are client objectives. There are audience insights. But there’s also taste. Originality. Gut feeling. Energy. That sense of, “This is good, but it’s not quite there yet.”
You can’t always prove why something doesn’t feel right.
And that’s where structured feedback frameworks start to strain.
It made me reflect on something important. Maybe the “truth” in Truth Kindly Told isn’t always a hard fact. Sometimes the truth is a perspective. A reaction. A professional instinct.
The question then becomes: how do we communicate that truth without bruising the person who created the work?
So I went to the source
After the session, I wanted to explore this further. If the framework flexes in creative environments, what does “good” actually look like in practice?
So I caught up with Jason, our Creative Director at Trunk, to properly unpack it.
Not to rewrite the rules. But to understand how feedback lands in a space where ideas are personal, subjective and often still forming.
What became clear very quickly is that creative feedback isn’t harder because creatives are fragile. It’s harder because the work itself is more exposed.
When someone presents a spreadsheet, they’re sharing output. When someone presents a campaign idea, they’re sharing judgement. Taste. Instinct. Sometimes something they’ve fought hard for.
That changes the dynamic.
Creative work is personal
One thing that stood out in our conversation is how much risk creative teams carry.
There’s a vulnerability in putting ideas on the table. Particularly bold ones. Particularly early ones.
And if feedback is careless or vague, it doesn’t just stall the idea. It can shut down the next one too.
We’ve all heard it before:
“Can we make it pop?”
“Something feels off.”
“They’ll never go for that.”
Comments like that don’t move the work forward. They don’t clarify. They don’t anchor to anything meaningful. They just create noise.
And noise is the enemy of craft.
Anchoring to strategy, not ego
So what does Truth Kindly Told look like in a creative environment?
For me, it’s about anchoring feedback somewhere solid.
We may not always be able to say, “This is wrong.” But we can ask:
Does this answer the brief?
Is this distinctive in the market?
Will this make our client feel confident?
Is this building on what we’ve done before, or simply repeating it?
When feedback is rooted in strategy and outcomes, it removes ego from the room. It shifts the conversation from personal preference to shared objectives.
At Trunk, we talk about Consult. Craft. Connect.
Consult means we understand the problem deeply before we start shaping the solution. That gives us something concrete to refer back to when critiquing creative work.
Craft means we respect expertise. Creative teams are not executors of instructions. They are specialists. Feedback should guide and sharpen, not override.
Connect means we join the dots. Between strategy and execution. Between departments. Between internal conversations and what the client ultimately experiences.
When those three things are aligned, feedback becomes less about “I like this” and more about “Is this the strongest answer to the problem we’re solving?”
That’s a much healthier place to operate from.
Psychological safety isn’t softness
Another theme that surfaced in both the training and my conversation with Jason was psychological safety.
There’s a misconception that safety means lowering the bar. It doesn’t.
It means creating an environment where people know they won’t be humiliated for getting it wrong. Where ideas can be explored before they’re fully formed. Where someone can fight for a bold concept without fear of being shut down prematurely.
Because the reality is this: creative work will not be right first time. Often it shouldn’t be. If we expect perfection at the first attempt, we won’t get originality. We’ll get safe.
And safe rarely moves brands forward.
As leaders, that responsibility sits with us. Psychological safety is created from the top down. If managers can admit when they’re wrong. If they can be open to challenge. If they can say, “I’m not convinced yet, but let’s explore it,” that sets the tone.
It tells the team: we are aiming high, but you’re safe to try.
Playing the ball, not the person
There are also non-negotiables.
Feedback should always be about the work, never the individual. Playing the ball, not the person.
It should be specific enough to move the idea on. It should have intent. And it should be delivered with empathy.
One small but powerful habit we often overlook is starting with appreciation. A simple “thank you” for the effort and thinking that has gone in. Not as a softener. As recognition. Because creative work takes time, energy and courage.
From there, even difficult feedback can land constructively.
Why this matters beyond the studio
You might ask why an internal feedback culture deserves this much attention.
Because clients feel the results of it.
If feedback internally is vague, ego-led or inconsistent, that shows up externally as diluted ideas, overworked campaigns and nervous presentations.
If feedback internally is clear, strategic and respectful, the work is sharper. The thinking is stronger. The team is more confident defending it.
Truth Kindly Told isn’t about being nice. It’s about being honest in a way that strengthens both the work and the people behind it.
Creative feedback will never be entirely objective. Nor should it be. There will always be instinct, debate and the occasional friction.
But if we anchor ourselves to strategy, respect craft, and communicate with empathy, we create an environment where better ideas can surface.
And that’s ultimately what our clients are paying us for.
Not perfection first time.
But the discipline and culture to get to the best possible answer.
Ready to raise the standard?
Creative standards don’t improve by accident. They improve through culture, clarity and constructive challenge.
If you want a partner who can help you consult properly, craft with intent and connect strategy to execution, we’re ready.
