Transform difficult conversations into stronger relationships, more trust and better results.

  • Important conversations are being avoided

  • Feedback is shared indirectly rather than openly

  • Honest critique feels risky

  • Appreciation isn’t being given

  • Unresolved tensions simmer under the surface

  • Trust declines

  • Misunderstandings grow

Do you recognise any of these?

These are all symptoms of feedback avoidance.

Don’t worry, you are not alone! It’s something we see all the time:

→ Feedback avoidance creates a culture in which unexamined assumptions, misunderstandings and unspoken frustrations take root.

→ Relationships become vulnerable to mistrust and conflict.

→ When differences of power and influence are in the mix, the impact can be corrosive.

A white woman in her 30s with dark hair, glasses and in a black blazer is sitting next to an Asian woman in her 30s with long brown hair in a black blazer. Both have grey laptops in front of them and are looking ahead while side-glancing each other.

This course is here to help.

We created ‘Frontiers of Feedback’ to help you and your colleagues identify, learn and practise effective feedback skills to build better relationships and achieve better work outcomes.

What is feedback?

We give and receive feedback intentionally and unintentionally all the time - not just through our words, but through our body language, our tone of voice, our silences etc.

That’ s how we read who we are in relation to others from moment to moment.

It’s impossible to control all the feedback we are giving and receiving, but we can learn to give and receive feedback in ways that support mutual growth.

What can I expect?

Frontiers of Feedback is a skills-based programme and therefore highly practical: more than one third of contact time is spent in skills practice. We will encourage and support you to embody your learning by applying these skills straight away in your personal and professional life.

As a participant in Frontiers of Feedback, you will learn how to:

✓ Communicate clearly, honestly and authentically
✓ Give feedback with skill, care and confidence
✓ Receive feedback with openness and less defensiveness
✓ Build psychological safety and stronger relationships
✓ Navigate differences in power, identity and lived experience
Listen deeply and respond mindfully
✓ Turn difficult conversations into opportunities for growth

Which enables the following outcomes:

→ Improved communication across difference
→ Stronger leadership capability
→ More effective collaboration
→ Greater creativity and productivity
→ Increased trust and belonging
Healthier relationships

Two Asian men in their 30s are standing next to each other. The one on the left in glasses and a baseball cap is looking on while the one on the right in a light blue shirt has his hand on the other man’s shoulder while looking at him and speaking.

Photo by NONRESIDENT on Unsplash

What participants have said

  • “Julia and Razia's training creates the kind of space where you can learn to say the thing that feels hard to say - and feel supported to do it well. I learned how to offer clear, honest feedback with care and saw first-hand how that can shift dynamics that previously felt stuck. It's deep and challenging work but it's had a lasting impact on how I think about conversations, relationships and culture.”

    - Meena Bharadwa

  • “Julia and Razia’s facilitation was kind, supportive but also direct when it needed to be. They fleshed out the parts we struggled to confront without it feeling like a threat and helped us move quicker through difficult topics. Their work had a huge impact on our culture. It had people thinking and operating differently, made space for more authenticity and changed our ability to work more openly, honestly and collaboratively.”

    — Yusra Ali

Each programme is tailored to the organisation’s specific context and objective. Over three months, Frontiers of Feedback combines individual, small group and whole group learning in a cohort of up to 15 people. Working with a different theme each month, the course includes the following elements:

What’s the content and schedule?

Benchmarking questionnaire at the start, end and three months after the programme

Whole group learning

Benchmarking

Six fortnightly 2-hour facilitated learning sessions

Individual tasks, including journalling, to be completed between sessions

Individual assignments

1-to-1 support

Optional 1-to-1 coaching support to accelerate learning

Regular reviews

Scheduled contact point with the commissioner(s)

Groups of 3-5 people meet fortnightly for shared practice and reflection

Skills practice

Small group learning

A third of all time spent in applied skills practice

The time requirement is a minimum of 8 hours per month:

  • 4 hours of facilitated learning

  • 2 hours of companion learning

  • 1 hour of journalling

  • 1 hour of personal practice

Photo by Age Cymru on Unsplash

Example schedule

Month 1: The role of feedback

  • The role of feedback in relationships

  • Early experiences of feedback

  • What makes feedback difficult and why

  • What makes feedback effective and why

  • Exploring underlying motivations

  • Bridging the gap between intention and action

  • Deep listening and authentic speech

Month 2: ‘Feedback hygiene’

  • How feedback intersects with diversity

  • Appeasement and fragility

  • Equitable feedback practice

Month 3: Feedback across differences of power

To discuss how Frontiers of Feedback can support you, your team or your organisation, write us a message or set up an informal call.

What’s the investment?

In-house programme
£9,732 per cohort (up to 15 participants)

Open programme
£750 per participant (up to 15 places)
Two bursary places are available on every course for people on low income.

The next course starts in October 2026. Whole group learning workshops are from 10am-12pm every other Thursday, starting 1 October 2026.

Optional 1-to-1 coaching is available at £150 per hour for all programmes.

Who are the facilitators?

Razia is sitting on the grass in a beige coat and grey trousers with her legs crossed. She is laughing and looking over to the left side.

Razia Aziz (she/her) is a consultant and facilitator, holistic coach and creative practitioner. She has supported thousands of people in and beyond organisations to grow and thrive by developing creative, conscious agency at the level of self, relationship and system.

With a wealth of experience in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, she has worked across sectors with frontline staff to senior leaders — creating reflective and courageous spaces for learning and relationship building.

Combining practical tools with deep respect for lived experience, she supports people to reconnect authentically and compassionately with themselves, others and the wider world, restoring creativity, resilience and purposeful leadership.

www.raziaaziz.com

Julia is smiling and looking down while rolling up the sleeves of her floral black blouse on her right arm.

Photo by Livio Salvi

Julia Oertli (she/her) set up Orchid Culture Change to help teams create cultures that match their bold visions for systemic change. She has over 13 years experience in the UK public, philanthropic and non-profit sector where she has supported teams and whole organisations to navigate change and uncertainty by centering connection, equity and courage.

Julia is a certified facilitator of The Resilience Toolkit, a trauma-informed approach to building stability, capacity and coherence in people’s nervous systems so they can navigate challenges without burning out.

She has used this method to support individual leaders, teams and organisations to expand internal capacity and possibility during periods of high change.

www.orchidculturechange.com

Together, Razia and Julia bring extensive experience of helping individuals, teams and organisations develop courageous, compassionate and equitable relationships and cultures.