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Watching organisations and people evolve in 2025 keeps suggesting one idea: positive feedback is not a tool anymore, it has fully grown into a culture. This shift has made me wonder about the impact it has had not only on work, but also on education, personal development, and even casual social engagements. Feedback has always, and for a long time, had a stigma. This stigma made it almost impossible to escape the ‘putting down’ feedback during any assessment review. Far too often, it has been counteractive and reflective: focusing on failure instead of the possibility to improve. The sense that I have is that we are in the year 2025, and there is already a feedback culture that has fully matured.

One of the most visible evolutions I notice is the emergence of feedforward thinking. Rather than having to shift to a more corrective approach to take feedback, it is now used as a catalyst for new opportunities. Most of my students would now much rather hear, “In the future, this is how you might want to approach it to make your message more concise,” instead of, “You should have explained this better.” That small shift makes a world of difference from the point of view of a student, as it demonstrates rational trust along with support for one's potential. From my perspective, this shift is such a cultural reality: in 2025, this is a world where no one is running away from feedback; rather, it is something that is actively sought, accepted, and used as a catalyst. I no longer avoid feedback; instead, I see it as growth which should not be intermittent, but rather everlasting.

I appreciate the takeaway message I hold, which is about how gratitude shapes culture. I also appreciate how, when I receive positive feedback, I no longer feel like I am being criticised. I am also supportive when I offer feedback that is constructive. I appreciate feeling like I am part of the building of the culture. There are also the simple fixes, which will be the benchmark for organisations in 2025. They will be the ones where feedback is not top-down, but horizontal. Leaders ask their team what to improve. There is no hesitation among colleagues. Students offer more feedback to their lecturers than is given. This reciprocity is what turns feedback into a language of growth, which for me, is against the norm.

On a personal level, I have noticed how feedback has changed the way I see myself. I used to think feedback was a way to point out flaws, whereas now I see feedback as the acknowledgement of my capacity to improve. All feedback strengthens my confidence and resilience, and positive feedback tells me not only what I did well, but that I have something worth building upon. There are days when a simple acknowledgement — “That idea really added value to our project” — is the very spark that drives me to try harder, reach higher, and have a greater willingness to share. Feedback, for me, has less to do with grades and more to do with relationships, support, and a sense of community.

In 2025, while pondering, I do not see feedback as something that is managerial or something that is in trend, but as something that is part of a working culture that is focused on growth. It is changing the way we work, learn, and relate to one another. It is also performing a democratisation of voice, empowering individual and collective advancement. There is only one thing that I will carry forward from this reflection, and that is this: feedback in 2025 is no longer about correcting what went wrong, it is about jointly constructing what is to come. It is a culture where every interaction becomes a core value, every comment becomes an opportunity, and every recognition becomes a motivation. It is my strong belief that this culture is here to stay.

Mr. Srikumar Ramayan
School of Communication and Media Studies 
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