March Chapter Meeting
Fearless Feedback
Teaching others to say what needs to be said without losing the relationship
You see it every day. The manager who puts off the feedback conversation because they're afraid of a reaction. The leader who wants to terminate someone, yet they haven't shared feedback in a meaningful way. And you want nothing more than to have managers and leaders in your organization have greater confidence and competence with feedback conversations. That's where Fearless Feedback comes in. Fearless Feedback is saying what needs to be said without losing the relationship, and with simple, repeatable frameworks, HR professionals can bring these tools to their organization.
By the end of the session, you'll walk away with:
1. Learning how to help others be less afraid to give feedback by adopting the Fearless Feedback Framework.
2. Helping others reduce reactions in feedback conversations by learning the 3 key factors for a strong opening to a feedback conversation.
3. Improved actionability of feedback by learning how to break down the Headline, Observation, Ask framework for feedback.
Meeting agenda
7:45 AM – 8:00 AM: SHRM Skagit-Island Chapter Updates
8:00 AM – 9:00 AM: Fearless Feedback
About our Speaker
Katie O'Brien Ceccarini, Certified Executive Coach & Founder of Endurance Management Coaching. Award-winning author of Fearless Feedback: Everything Managers Have Never Been Taught About Feedback
Katie is an award-winning author and a developer of people with more than two decades of experience leading, managing, and training teams.
Her career spans early education, a decade at Yelp where she created and scaled all Customer Success training, and then as Head of Learning & Development at Opendoor she elevated employee onboarding and leadership development. She has the rare ability to bridge the gap between what HR and L&D leaders need and what actually lands with leaders in the business.
In 2026, she published Fearless Feedback: Everything Managers Have Never Been Taught About Feedback, a practical guide that makes feedback less daunting and more effective. Fearless Feedback has already won 3 book awards:
- 1st Place - Business Communication category with The BookFest Awards Fall 2026
- 1st Place - Leadership & Management category with The BookFest Awards Fall 2026
- Distinguished Favorite - Leadership category with The NYC Big Book Awards 2026
Katie runs Endurance Management Coaching, partnering with organizations like eBay, LinkedIn, Allstate Insurance, and PAN Communications to develop their managers and leaders. Everything she teaches comes from real teams, real conversations, and real results. Katie's leadership style is best described as human, with standards. She cares deeply and holds a high bar.
When she's not working, she's getting dirty at the barn with her horse, training for triathlons, or hanging out with her son and husband in Denver.
