Asking for feedback at work can feel like a double-edged sword. On one hand, you might find some useful recommendations to increase the quality of your work, but on the other hand, you might open yourself up to criticism that is more harsh than you were expecting. While the fear is understandable, requesting feedback from a manager can bring you insightful notes that make the experience worth investing in. If you want to grow in your career, constant evolution and progress are essential, and requesting constructive feedback is one way to push you further in your journey.
Even if the criticism feels painful, you are better off knowing where you stand with your manager and your organization. Your feedback request strategies don’t have to be complicated and only need to convey your genuine desire to perform better.
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Asking for Feedback at Work—Exploring the Pros and Cons
Requesting constructive feedback comes with its own set of challenges and complications. If you’re already overwhelmed by the quantity of work you have, asking for feedback at work sometimes adds to the list of responsibilities that your manager thinks you should take up, which is one of the downsides to instigating this procedure.
However, requesting feedback from a manager can also depict your genuine commitment to your company, showing you in a positive light. Before you set out on your mission to find constructive feedback, there are some pros and cons to consider.
Advantages of Asking for Feedback at Work
- Shows your desire to improve your performance and better serve the company
- Highlights your work ethic and commitment to improvement
- Increases the communication between you and your manager
- Gives you areas of improvement that can help in your career
- Makes the expectations of the organization clearer to you
- Allows you to determine if this job or role is right for you. If the company is expecting something entirely different from what you’re doing, you have the power to determine whether to look for opportunities that align with your job targets
- Reframes your work performance from an outsider’s perspective so you get a different view of your work
- Helps realign your goals and determine the milestones you need to set to get there
- The changes you make after receiving your feedback can showcase your ability to evolve
- Gives you the chance to make a few requests of the organization so you can better implement their feedback
- When asking for a promotion, wage hike, or additional benefits, you can supplement your claim with evidence of your hard work
Disadvantages of Asking for Feedback at Work
- Adds more pressure to your existing responsibilities as you begin to work on improvements
- Can make the relationship between you and your manager more stressful
- Opens you up to criticism that is more personal than professional
- The feedback might require you to change how you work entirely
- Makes it harder to commit to your work when the feedback is particularly harsh
While there are valid disadvantages to asking for feedback, the advantages far outweigh them. Most of the disadvantages can be handled by asking at a time when you have the headspace and downtime between projects to take on additional work. The rest can be handled by making it clear that you’re looking for ways to improve and asking for the manager’s assistance to tackle the bigger issues they see with your work. Negative opinions can feel very hurtful but you have to distance yourself from the emotional aspect of it and explore ways to improve yourself for the sake of your career.
Feedback Request Strategies—How to Ask a Manager for Feedback
It sounds quite simple at first glance—step one, find your manager, and step two, say “Do you have any feedback for me?” In reality, it is a little more complex to ask for feedback in a way where it is constructive and you’re able to discuss how to implement it in a gradual manner. Feedback is more than just a bullet list of areas of improvement and should include a more in-depth conversation surrounding the details. Most organizations should have a feedback system in place already, where you are evaluated on your performance in a monthly, quarterly, or yearly manner.
If you’re willing to wait for these cycles and discuss feedback then that’s a valid option for you. If your organization does not have such a system in place or if you’d like feedback to improve your performance between these reviews, then asking is the way to make it happen.
Consider Feedback From Alternate Sources
Your manager’s feedback holds the most significance as the primary reviewer of your work, but you can also be considerate of what others have to say. Talking to colleagues and subordinates and asking them for feedback might help you shape your feedback request to your manager better. By acknowledging the recommendations from others, you can feel a sense of clarity that you can use to structure the questions you want to ask your manager next.
If your desire for feedback is truly about improvement, then you should be open to these bits of information from those around you. When you do approach your coworkers, you also need to be prepared to look at their opinions objectively without letting them sour your relationship with them. If you can’t do that, then you will have to avoid asking a question you will not like the answers to.
Pick the Right Time To Request Feedback
Asking for feedback from a manager is a time-consuming task and cannot be slipped in quickly between meetings. It is better to enquire with your manager about their availability and ensure they have sufficient time to have a detailed discussion with you at their convenience. If you’ve just completed a project or picked up a new skill, that is a good time to ask for feedback so you can improve your performance with the next task. If your manager is caught up with a lot of different responsibilities, it is a good idea to wait a little longer to solicit feedback.
You can send an email to make the request and ask for a time that you can meet in person. You can also have a brief conversation about your desire for feedback in person.
Be Clear About What Kind of Feedback You’re Looking For
If you have a specific area in mind where you’d like feedback, then it is useful to mention that in your email as well. This can make it easier for your manager to frame their feedback and ensure that you get inputs that are helpful for you. If you’ve recently led a team on a project, you might want to target feedback on your leadership skills and how you can improve in the area. If you’ve changed your design style or approach to a task, you can request feedback in those specific areas. This way, requesting constructive feedback becomes much easier.
Convey That You Are Open To Feedback In All Areas of Work
An effective feedback exchange can only take place when you are receptive to feedback in all areas that relate to the workplace. While you may have an idea of which areas you want feedback in, you should also be open to receiving feedback in other areas that are more relevant to your manager. If you’ve requested feedback specifically with relevance to your client briefings but your manager brings up your relationship with your coworkers, do not turn down their inputs.
Managers are well-placed as observers and they could have some insight on areas that you hadn’t previously noted to be a problem. Consider what they have to say and listen attentively to understand their perspective.
Prepare Your Own Set of Questions For Your Meeting With Your Manager
If the feedback process is an informal one, it is a good idea to frame your thoughts well before you enter the meeting. Your manager can give you more insightful advice if they understand your own areas of concern and the struggles you have faced in completing tasks recently. You may not be able to delve into every single point during the meeting, but some preliminary questions will make it easier to get the conversation started in the right direction.
You are also free to lay out your career goals and request feedback on what you need to work on to make them more achievable.
Be Prepared to Take Notes While Requesting Feedback from the Manager
In some cases, your manager may prepare a formal document consolidating their feedback with areas of improvement marked out clearly. In the absence of such a report, you should make it a point to take your own notes so you can refer to them later and structure your short-term plans towards improvements.
You are also free to summarize the main points that were discussed and email them to your manager later to create a record of the meeting and highlight your main takeaways from the conversation. This will ensure that both of you are on the same page and have a timeline in mind for the changes that come next.
Enter the Feedback Meeting With a Calm, Receptive Attitude
Some of the notes you receive on your performance may be disheartening or go against how you perceive yourself. It is best to avoid getting defensive and try to explore why they feel that way instead. If your manager has negative critiques of your work, understand what has led them to see it that way. Perhaps you can identify a genuine disconnect between both of your perspectives or a lack of information that has led to this situation.
If you do feel the need to explain yourself, ensure that you are selective about which points you pick. Do not try to disprove everything at once, considering it would defeat the purpose of the meeting. Do your best to ask questions that explore why your manager feels that way rather than constantly disagreeing with them. When in doubt, seek clarification.
Discuss How You Can Make Improvements To Address the Feedback
A key component of your feedback request strategies should revolve around your next step after the feedback is received. Your manager can’t give you all the answers but you can work with them to explore some options. They might be able to help you with identifying who has the skill sets that you need to learn from or they can guide you with what department you should reach out to next for additional feedback.
Making the planning of your goals a collaborative process is ideal if your manager seems open to discussing the next steps with you. It isn’t possible to change everything all at once, but you can determine which areas to address first and then set incremental steps towards your goal.
Implement the Feedback as Soon as You Can
It isn’t enough to get a list of areas of improvement and just stop there. The fun begins when you actually experiment with how you can put the feedback to good use, showcasing your skills as a good listener and worker all in one. Set small, achievable goals and keep referring back to this feedback list so you can track your progress towards them.
Asking for feedback at work should start to feel natural over time even if you do struggle with it the first few times. It is a normal part of the work process and always helps you get better at what you do, one step at a time. Sometimes the feedback may be harsher than you expected, in which case, try to get a few minutes to yourself and gather your thoughts before you return to work. Reward yourself at the end of the day for making the brave decision to ask for a review and prepare yourself with a strategy to return to work the next day, ready to get started with a new challenge of turning things around.