Control-and-Learn Leadership Loop
Convert feedback into action by focusing on what the leader controls
- Difficulty
- Advanced
- Time to result
- ~ongoing to results
- Steps
- 5
- Confidence
- 96%
The Control-and-Learn Leadership Loop begins when a leader receives uncomfortable input. Instead of spending all available energy debating whether bias, double standards, or unfair conditions contributed, acknowledge the context and identify what remains within personal power. Name the decision, behavior, or capability that can be improved, then choose a concrete learning input: a class, coach, book, podcast, or practice change. Test the interpretation with trusted advisers who know the leader and company well enough to challenge excuses and say plainly when a decision was poor. Apply the correction and remain open to the next round of feedback. The mechanism does not claim that external unfairness is unreal; it prevents uncontrollable factors from consuming the energy required for action. The output is a continuous development engine grounded in feedback, agency, and informed challenge.
Origin
DeBaun formed this loop after recognizing that defensive explanations were not improving her leadership, then made learning and trusted challenge part of her daily engine.
Core principles
- 01Leaders cannot control every source of unfairness
- 02Feedback becomes useful only when addressed
- 03Continuous learning must be built into the routine
- 04Trusted advisers need enough context to challenge decisions
How to run it
- 1
Receive the input
Listen for the decision, behavior, or outcome the feedback describes before constructing a defense.
Pro tip Write the feedback in neutral language before responding.
Watch out Immediate explanation can prevent the useful signal from being heard.
- 2
Separate control from context
Acknowledge external conditions, then identify the part that remains within your power to change.
Watch out Focusing on agency should not require pretending discrimination or structural barriers do not exist.
- 3
Choose the correction
Define the specific decision, skill, or behavior that needs improvement and select an action to address it.
Pro tip Match the learning method to the gap: coaching for behavior, classes for skills, advisers for judgment.
- 4
Use trusted challengers
Review the situation with advisers who understand the company and are willing to call out a bad decision directly.
Pro tip Favor invested, context-rich relationships over famous but distant mentors.
Watch out Advice without context can optimize for the wrong vision.
- 5
Apply and repeat
Change the behavior, observe the result, and keep learning as a recurring leadership practice.
In the wild
After periods of avoiding problems and explaining criticism through unfair expectations, DeBaun redirected attention toward what she controlled. She took classes, hired executive coaches, consumed books and podcasts, and relied on advisers who would tell her directly when a decision was bad and how to repair it.
→ Learning and candid feedback became recurring inputs to her development as a CEO.
Common mistakes
Spending all energy on unfairness
The unfairness may be real, but exclusive focus on it can leave controllable behavior unchanged.
Chasing famous advisers
A prestigious stranger may lack the context and investment needed to challenge decisions usefully.
Is it for you?
Best for
It is best for founders and executives receiving difficult feedback while learning roles they have not held before.
Not ideal for
It is not ideal when the issue requires structural or legal intervention beyond the leader's personal behavior.
From the transcript
“what's in my control what's in my power and how can I make an impact or improve the things that are in my control and…”
“I've just made learning and learning how to be a better leader a part of my engine every single day”
“who has been rocking with you for a long time who is successful maybe in a different industry who you can have quarterly meetings with…”
From the episode
Morgan DeBaun: Your Startup Survival Kit, from VC Funding to Leadership
Morgan DeBaun