F.A.D.E. A.W.A.Y.: turning discomfort into direction

Themes: Happy People | Teams

Feedback is meant to help teams grow, so why does it still feel like a threat?

Even in the safest teams, it can trigger defensiveness and disconnection. Tutu uncovered the F.A.D.E. A.W.A.Y. pattern to describe how teams self-protect during feedback. 

In this session, we’ll explore emotional resistance, introduce tools like COILED, and reframe how we coach through vulnerability, turning feedback into a catalyst for trust, safety, and growth.

You’ll leave with tools to recognise emotional defences, coach psychological safety, and transform feedback into a catalyst for trust and growth.

Participant takeaways:

• Understand and identify the F.A.D.E. A.W.A.Y. pattern - emotional resistance behaviours that surface when feedback threatens identity and safety.
• Apply coaching techniques and structured tools like COILED to help teams regulate emotions, stay open, and turn feedback into meaningful dialogue.
• Foster environments where feedback becomes a continuous, trust-building habit - not a one-off event - anchored in team learning and improvement.

This session is for:

Anyone coaching or supporting teams where feedback feels difficult, avoided, or performative. Especially valuable for those looking to deepen emotional insight and move from feedback-as-process to feedback-as-growth.

This session:

• Includes interaction
• Has no session cap