Dear Corporate Girlies

Are you getting helpful feedback?

By Katie Stanfield

Dear Corporate Girlies,

Before Amazon started using AI to summarize reviews, it used to feature a “Most Helpful Favorable Review” and a “Most Helpful Negative Review” prominently on product pages. Do you know what these helpful reviews had in common? They were specific.

The review is supposed to do more than tell us if someone loved or hated the product. It’s supposed to help us understand why.

The same is true for feedback. But at work, too many professionals are operating with a distinct lack of actionable feedback. So what’s getting in the way, and what can you do about it?

Issue #1: Structure
If you don’t have regular 1:1s with your manager and/or the only feedback you get comes once a year during an annual review, start finding opportunities to ask for feedback. And don’t ask “do you have any feedback for me?” because it will send your manager scrambling to come up with something to say. Instead, ask “how did I show up in this meeting?” or “is this email an effective way to keep you updated on this project?” When you make a specific ask, you are more likely to get a specific answer.

Issue #2: Feelings
You need to be able to hear tough feedback. It will be uncomfortable. One of the greatest challenges for managers is giving timely, direct feedback while maintaining a high level of psychological safety. If you’re signaling defensive, combative, or resistant, your manager might be holding back valuable feedback because they don’t believe you can handle hearing it.

Issue #3: Misalignment
Feedback lives in the space between expectations and reality. Good feedback? Your work exceeded expectations. Tough feedback? Your work did not meet expectations. What if your expectations for good work looks like completing tasks on time and on budget, while your manager’s expectations for good work looks like strong communication, anticipating problems, and maintaining composure? A shared understanding of those expectations gets you on a path to growth and opportunity much faster. If you don’t know what your manager’s expectations are, make it your mission to find out ASAP.

Power Skill of the Month: Signaling Leadership Potential

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Career Question of the Month

How are you articulating your impact?

In our “take it to work” guide, we share the formula for writing a one-sentence leadership identity statement. Take a peek, give it a try, and let us know what you came up with!

Want to talk about it? Send me an email or message me on LinkedIn.