I've done the activity, what next?

Individually dive deeper with Feedback Animals.

Explore other archetypes you relate to: Now that you've considered your default ways of giving and receiving feedback, you have the option of writing your own questions.

Click on the pencil icon ✏️ under the card drop zone to write a new statement eg

When I'm under pressure I give feedback this way...
My secondary animal archetype for giving feedback is...
When I'm giving feedback to an experienced colleague my archetype is...

Take a moment to reflect on these additional questions to gain deeper insights on different feedback scenarios:

Is your default Feedback Animal when you are under pressure different to your preferred style? Why or why not?
Are there other Feedback Animal cards that you relate to? Which is your secondary archetype for giving feedback?
What situations or scenarios might best suit giving feedback like the owl/lorikeet/meerkat/lioness?
Which feedback animals have you experienced as a receiver? Which have you not experienced?
Think of feedback you've struggled to understand in the past. Which Feedback Animal seems to match how it was delivered?
If you wanted to invent a new animal card which fitted you perfectly, what would it be?

Have a conversation with your coach or mentor, sharing your feedback animals. Ask about theirs.

Learn more about effective feedback techniques. There are many great resources including; Thanks for the Feedback, Situation, Behaviour & Impact, Building a Healthy Feedback Culture, Crucial Conversations

Introduce this activity 1:1 with people you routinely give feedback to. Especially valuable where it is a new feedback relationship. A good way to start is to share your preferred ways to give and receive feedback. Include the invitation to receive feedback, especially on areas that you want to grow stronger at. Good feedback isn’t hierarchical, it’s a two-way exchange. Remember to introduce the purpose of the activity; to learn more about each other’s feedback approaches to ensure effective feedback conversations, always delivered with good intentions.

How can I use this with my team?

The Feedback Animals activity can be a useful tool to kick-off, or reinforce a positive feedback culture in your team. Opportunities where you could use it to start a team conversation include:

I’m setting up a new team and I want us to get off to a great start, trust each other and thrive.
New team members have joined my team and we need to do a quick re-set so that no one is left out and there’s good trust and connection.
My team is drowning; team members are feeling overwhelmed or in tension and it’s affecting how we work.

Activities to try, include:

Introduce the Feedback Animals activity with your team. Great for new teams to help them form, or share the activity as part of a team building workshop.

Allow 5-10 mins for each team member to individually complete the activity on their laptops. Take individual screenshots to capture the results.
Take it in turns to share insights, starting with yourself/team leader. Explain when you respond best to receiving feedback.
Discuss as a group what does this mean for the way we give & receive feedback day to day in our roles?

Variation on above - include a ‘blank’ card template.

Is there a different feedback animal that best describes you at work?
Complete a card template with its name, characteristics, pros & cons?
Share and explain it to the team.

Understand the different Feedback Animal archetypes better.

Assign different Feedback Animal cards to team members (not the ones that are their preferred archetypes)
Ask them to role play giving & receiving feedback as that archetype. It can be helpful to have a simple feedback scenario prepared for the team eg: Give feedback to a team member on a small training session they ran that had good content, but lacked hands-on practice.
Discuss: What did you learn? What do you notice?

Schedule a Feedback Habits team workshop with Unfold Labs
Incorporate Feedback Animal cards into your existing learning programs eg Leadership, team skills, onboarding.

Uicons by Flaticon

What does feedback sound like from different Feedback Animals?

Scenario: Missed deadline

Context:

Maria usually pulls together the team summary for the monthly leadership catch-up. Last time, it was late — she’d been waiting on data but didn’t flag it. As a result, the team looked a bit disorganised in front of leadership.

Your Role:

You work alongside Maria. Give her feedback that acknowledges she’s normally solid, explains how the delay affected things, and encourages her to speak up sooner next time.

	Feedback Animal	What it might sound like
	Owl The Instructor	Maria, for next time — if you think something might run late, it helps to say so a day or two out. What I usually do is: check what I need early, send a quick note if there’s a hold-up, and have a fallback if it drags out. It just avoids the last-minute scramble.
	Lorikeet The Conversationalist	(over a slice of cake) Hey, I was thinking about the summary last month — I didn’t realise you were stuck waiting on data. What do you reckon might work better next time, if something’s out of our hands like that?
	Meerkat The Harmoniser	I figured something was up with the summary last month. You usually have it so polished. I know sometimes there are delays — totally get it. I suppose, if you ever think it might not land on time, even a tiny heads-up — sorry, just a little note — could help the rest of us adjust things a bit, maybe. But honestly, I know you’ve got a lot on.
	Lioness The Challenger	Maria, I’m saying this because I rate you. The late summary made us look messy, and that’s not you. Just call it out next time — even if it’s someone else’s delay. You’ve got good instincts, use ’em.
	Turtle The Avoider	(Internal monologue weeks later) She probably knows the summary was late. It’s not really my place to bring it up. I just hope it doesn’t happen again...
	Crab The Sidestepper	I didn’t bring it up with her, but that late summary didn’t look great. Maybe someone like Jess, who’s closer to her day-to-day, could gently mention it? She’d take it better from her.
	Penguin The Unfiltered	The summary was late again. Brilliant. No warning, nothing. And somehow it’s someone else’s fault. I had to wait ten minutes for my sandwich last Tuesday. I hate that. Why is no one ever just... on time anymore?