Getting Feedback
Taking Responsibility for Your Performance
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bmcent1
When you know where to look, you can get lots of
valuable feedback.
"The leader of the past was a person who knew how to tell. The
leader of the future will be the person who knows how to ask."–
Peter Drucker, author and consultant.
It's time for Scott's performance review – he walks
in confidently, and he's expecting praise for all the
hard work that he's been putting in.
However, he's devastated when his boss starts criticizing the quality of his
work. Not only is she unhappy with Scott's performance, but she's also
considering taking away some of his responsibilities.
Surprises like this are more common than you might think. After all, if your
boss or your clients were unhappy with your work, they'd tell you, right?
Well, not all of the time. This is why it's so important to be proactive about
getting feedback. In this article, we'll look at how to ask for feedback, and how
you can learn from it.
Benefits of Feedback
To improve your skills and grow professionally, it's essential that you get
feedback on your work – you can't fix something that you don't know is
broken!
Feedback can help you to improve your performance, and boost your career
prospects. It may even lead to a promotion or to other opportunities. Your self-
confidence will grow, and it demonstrates to your boss that you truly care
about your work.
On the other hand, not getting any feedback can make you think that your
contributions aren't valued or noticed. This can make you question the
importance of the work that you're doing and your overall competency. It can
also damage your morale and self-esteem.
This is why it's important for you to take the initiative in asking for feedback,
especially if the people you need it from aren't offering it regularly. (For
instance, some managers may only provide detailed feedback during annual
performance reviews.)
An additional benefit is that when you ask for feedback, you do it on your
terms. You're mentally ready to hear the good and the bad, and you're open to
working hard to improve.
Overcoming a Fear of Feedback
Asking for feedback can be a bit intimidating, because you're opening yourself
up to possible criticism. This can be difficult at first.
You can overcome this fear by adjusting your mindset. Remember that no one
is perfect – all of us make mistakes, and there's always room for
improvement. In this respect, you're the same as everyone else in your
organization.
But it takes courage to admit that you're not perfect. As such, if you ask for
feedback, you've already put yourself a step above the majority who don't.
Tip:
A great way to overcome a fear of feedback is to use
the ABC Technique . This can help you to see feedback for
what it is – a useful learning tool that you can use to better
yourself – rather than being upset and demoralized by it.
Who to Ask for Feedback
The most obvious person to ask for feedback is your boss. However,
they're not the only person who can give you useful feedback.
Your colleagues will likely have some great insights into your performance.
They probably notice things about your work that you and your manager might
overlook. (You can offer to give feedback to them in return.)
You can also ask your customers for feedback. This shows them that you care
about your relationship and the work that you do for them. It also gives you a
chance to address any issues before they lose confidence in you and take
their business elsewhere.
Additionally, you can ask vendors and suppliers for feedback – any insights
that improve your working relationships can be valuable.
Note:
It can be hard for other people to give you feedback,
especially if it's constructive criticism. They most likely
want to help but they probably also don't want to hurt your
feelings! Do your best to put them at ease, so that they can
be honest with you.
How to Ask for Feedback
We'll now look at how you can ask for feedback effectively:
1. Consider the Timing
First, think about why you want feedback, so that you can time your request
appropriately. For instance, do you want feedback on your general
performance, or on a specific project, task, or event?
If you need feedback on general performance, then you can ask for it at any
sensible time. However, if you need feedback on something specific, such as
the meeting you just led or the report you just submitted, it's most helpful to
ask for it right after the event takes place. This immediacy will ensure that you
get the most accurate picture of your performance.
2. Be Specific
Whenever you ask for feedback, be as specific as possible.
General questions such as "How am I doing?" will most likely receive general
answers. You'll get better feedback by asking specific questions such as
"Have my weekly reports been as thorough as you want them to be?"
You can also ask for a specific action to take. For instance, you could ask,
"What's one thing I could do, in your opinion, to improve my work?"
If you're unsure about why the other person is giving you a specific type of
feedback, or if you feel that person might have jumped to the wrong
conclusions, then ask further questions. It's important to clarify any feedback
while the person is giving it; if you don't, you'll just stew over it later, and may
even jump to some incorrect conclusions yourself.
3. Be Graceful
If you receive negative feedback, it's tempting to provide an excuse for your
behavior or to point the finger of blame at someone else.
Therefore, it's important to learn how to handle criticism with grace.
Remember, you asked for this opportunity to improve! Be open and diplomatic
in your responses, and thank the other person for their time and effort.
4. Really Listen
When you receive feedback, you might instantly start thinking of excuses to
explain your behavior, or you might start planning what you're going to say
when the other person has finished speaking.
So, make an effort to listen in detail when receiving feedback. Use Active
Listening so that you get the full measure of what the person is saying.
How to Use Feedback Effectively
Feedback is only useful when you take the next step and actually do
something with it.
Explore the feedback that you receive before you take action on it. This will
help you to understand why your behavior needs to change. (You may find
the Feedback Matrix useful for thinking about this.)
Once you better understand the feedback, come up with a plan for how to use
it. Ask yourself how you're going to improve, and write out the steps that you
need to take.
This can become an important personal goal . For instance, imagine your
boss says that you need to work on your presentation manner, especially your
nerves. You could make this a goal, and commit to spending some time on it
so that you can improve your presentation skills.
When Feedback Is Unfair
Some of the feedback you receive will be useful and will motivate you to
perform better. However, some may be the opposite – unusable or downright
unfair.
Unfair feedback is often harsh, personal, and generalized, and it's likely to be
more of a personal attack than a sincere desire to help you improve. You can
learn strategies for dealing with this situation in our article, dealing with
unfair criticism .
Note:
If you're a manager, make sure that you're giving your
team members the feedback that they need to improve. To
learn how to give effective feedback, follow our Bite-Sized
Training session on giving feedback , or read our
article on the same subject.
Key Points
Feedback can be incredibly useful if you want to grow, both
personally and professionally. It's important to realize that
you'll often need to ask for feedback.
Be specific about what you want to know when you ask for
feedback. Ask questions to clarify anything that you're
unsure about, and be graceful when you receive the
feedback. Keep in mind that it's often as difficult to give
feedback as it is to hear it.
After you've received feedback, take time to understand
the other person's comments and then come up with a plan
on how to improve. The information that you receive
through feedback can turn into goals that you can use to
improve your career.
Annotate