Lead with Empathy, Land with Truth: How to give and receive constructive criticism
Ready 4 Pushback
Nik Fialka
4.8 • 716 Ratings
🗓️ 11 September 2025
⏱️ 14 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In this solo episode Nik takes on an essential skill every pilot and leader must master: giving and receiving feedback.
Drawing inspiration from a listener request, Nik explains how constructive feedback is the key to building trust, sharpening skills, and keeping crews safe. He compares feedback to ATC instructions—specific, timely, and critical to staying on course.
Whether you’re an instructor guiding a student, a first officer addressing a captain, or a leader in any field, Nik shares practical tips on how to deliver and receive feedback with empathy and respect, while still being direct and effective.
What You’ll Learn:
The difference between criticism that crushes and feedback that builds
Why timing and delivery matter when offering corrections
How to balance honesty with empathy
The importance of receiving feedback with humility and professionalism
How consistent feedback strengthens safety, leadership, and teamwork
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If you want to recommend someone to guest on the show, email Nik at [email protected], and if you need a professional pilot resume, go to www.spitfireelite.com/podcast/ for FREE templates!
SPONSOR
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hey, pilot. Welcome back to Ready for Pushback. I'm Nick Fielka and our conversation on this solo show is brand new. I'm trying a new thing as well if you're on YouTube. Welcome. It's me on a solo show. So I'm going to try to knock it out. Get something good done. I've been practicing a lot and getting into being solo and delivering |
| 0:24.4 | my information from my head, from my notes and all the things. So we'll give it a try today. |
| 0:30.3 | It all started as a spark. Maybe it was the sound of jets racing across the sky. |
| 0:38.2 | Or the feeling of your heart racing as you watch Crop Duster flying low and slow. |
| 0:44.3 | Even then, you knew you were meant to fly. |
| 0:48.4 | For pilots, it's more than just a job. |
| 0:51.0 | It's a calling. |
| 0:52.8 | The early mornings, the long hours, the relentless training, |
| 0:57.0 | you didn't do it for the money. You did it for that moment. That moment when the wheels |
| 1:02.2 | lift off and the earth falls away beneath you. But flying is just the beginning. The |
| 1:07.8 | journey to your dream job takes more than just skill in the sky. It takes |
| 1:11.9 | strategy on the ground and a lifetime of learning. Most pilots don't understand what career |
| 1:18.1 | opportunities are available in the world of aviation. Learn how to go from good to great, from flight |
| 1:24.9 | school to regional to major, and from hopeful to hired. Whether you're |
| 1:30.4 | sharpening your skills, building your resume, or preparing for that big interview, this is where |
| 1:36.0 | pilots come to level up. Let's get ready for pushback. Here's your host and my dad, Nick Fialca. |
| 1:44.3 | And this conversation today that I want to bring to you comes from a friend of my name, Kelsey. |
| 1:50.4 | And Kelsey is not a pilot. |
| 1:53.0 | She is a professional in the healthcare industry. |
| 1:56.3 | And she's a big muckety muck at a big company. |
| 1:59.4 | And she listens to the show and sent me a message and asked me to do a little bit of a |
| 2:06.1 | conversation about the power of how to handle giving negative feedback, giving constructive |
... |
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