Criticize in Public
Deliver negative feedback in front of the team so the whole system learns the issue is seen and being handled.
- Difficulty
- Advanced
- Time to result
- ~ongoing to results
- Steps
- 4
- Confidence
- 85%
Conventional wisdom says praise in public, criticise in private. Rabois inverts it: criticise in public. Private feedback optimises for the atomic unit (the individual) but not the system. Doing it in public signals to colleagues — who usually already sense the problem — that the issue is recognised and being addressed, turns it into a collaborative team-building moment, and lets others volunteer help. This is paired with an explicit rejection of psychological safety as a core tenet.
Origin
Rabois says he absorbed this tenet from one of the great founders he works with; he points to Jordan Rules and The Last Dance as illustrations of high-performance, low-psychological-safety cultures.
Core principles
- 01Private feedback optimises the individual; public feedback optimises the system
- 02Colleagues usually already suspect the problem — public feedback shows leadership is aware and on it
- 03Public handling converts criticism into a collaborative, team-building exercise where others can offer help
- 04High-performance machines don't run on psychological safety — they run on winning
- 05In practice, mix it — some things are said to the whole team, some channeled privately
How to run it
- 1
Decide what serves the system, not just the person
Before giving negative feedback, ask whether the team needs to see the issue acknowledged. If the problem affects or worries the group, address it publicly rather than in a private 1:1.
Pro tip Colleagues almost always have suspicions or concerns already — silence makes them think it's being ignored.
- 2
Frame it as an issue being addressed
Deliver the criticism so the message to the room is 'there's an issue, it's recognised, and we're on it' — not 'you have a deficiency, go fix it alone.'
Pro tip This reassures the team that leadership is aware and reduces the anxiety of watching a problem persist unaddressed.
- 3
Open the floor for help
Let public airing invite others to raise their hand and contribute to solving the problem, turning it into a collaborative fix.
Pro tip It becomes a team-building moment rather than an isolated reprimand.
- 4
Calibrate the public/private mix
Like the best sports coaches, say some things in front of the whole team and channel other, more personal things to the individual. Pure public criticism of everything is not the goal.
Pro tip The art is knowing which category a given piece of feedback falls into.
Watch out Done clumsily it reads as aggressive and can create a scary environment — the intent is winning, delivered with some craft.
In the wild
Asked whether he focuses on psychological safety as a core tenet, Rabois answered 'No. No, I don't believe in that at all,' arguing high-performance machines are about winning, and recommending Jordan Rules / The Last Dance as the model.
→ Frames public criticism inside a broader winning-first culture; he believes psychological safety is, for the most part, negatively correlated with success.
Common mistakes
Channeling all negative feedback privately
Handling issues only in 1:1s optimises the individual but leaves the team suspicious, unsure the problem is being addressed, and unable to help — the system doesn't improve.
Making it purely public and aggressive
Criticising everyone in public with no craft or private channel creates a scary environment; the effective version is a deliberate mix, like a good coach.
Is it for you?
Best for
Leaders building a high-performance, winning-oriented culture who want feedback to improve the whole team, not just one person
Not ideal for
Cultures or individuals where trust is fragile and public criticism would trigger fear rather than collaboration, or highly sensitive personal issues
From the transcript
“criticize people in public”
“when you give people feedback negative individually, you're optimizing for the atomic unit, not the system”
“high-performance machines don't have psychological safety, they're about winning”
“it lets other people kind of raise their hand and say, "You know what? I can kind of help with that."”
From the episode
Hard truths about building in the AI era
Keith Rabois (Khosla Ventures)