Want to Get Ahead? Solicit Feedback

I feel like we can all agree that performance reviews are painful.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying they aren’t important , but the process of sitting down together to discuss what someone has done right and what someone has done wrong in the last year is usually uncomfortable for both parties. So why do we do them? Because they are an important way to help people improve and develop. Making personnel aware of potential areas of improvement is an important step to building a well-functioning team.

However, I often hear people talking about the “feedback” they’ve received or given in a performance review. I think there is an important distinction to be made there. To be honest, what happens in a performance review is rarely, if ever, an exchange of feedback. Most performance reviews are a manager assessing the employee’s accomplishment level based on pre-defined objectives. That assessment is important, enlightening, and can even be empowering , but it is rarely true actionable feedback. And feedback is critical to personal growth, so it is important for everyone to understand the distinction.

Redefining feedback

Like goals assessment, feedback helps a person build a roadmap to improve their performance; however, I believe great feedback, instead of a simple assessment of how well we met expectations, offers us actionable guidance on how we can do things differently in the future—or even guidance to keep doing the same things we’re already doing well—to drive continuous improvement in our lives and careers.

In fact, we often solicit feedback after we have received judgment on something. For example, imagine I’ve just come out of a sales meeting, and my boss tells me, “Claudio, you clearly really understand this new product well. Unfortunately, your sales for it are not reaching our targeted goals for the quarter. I know you’ll really work hard to get those numbers up this quarter, and even exceed them next quarter because you always do.”

Many of you will likely recognize that as an example of the “sandwich feedback method .” There’s a piece of constructive “feedback” in there, wedged between two pieces of positive “feedback”—just like a sandwich. How do any of those statements, positive or negative, help me build a roadmap to success in the future? The information is important to know, but doesn’t guide me, which true feedback really should.

But all is not lost. I can still leverage this judgment to get feedback that will help me grow. It’s what I think should be at the heart of feedback: good feedback is solicited. If I want feedback (which I should, after that comment from my boss) and I choose the people who give it to me, and the conditions under which it is given, I’m likely to be a lot more receptive and the feedback is likely to be much more useful.

Start, stop, continue

In the sales target example above, one of the easiest ways I could get good feedback is to use the “start, stop, continue” method to solicit feedback. I can find a person with expertise, and ask them for feedback, framing it in a manner that makes it easy to help me—asking for guidance on what I should continue to do, what I should stop doing, and what I can do that I missed:

“Hi Mary. I saw in our last sales meeting that you’ve been moving our new product like crazy. I can see the product’s value, but I think I’m having trouble helping customers see it, as I haven’t gotten nearly as much traction as I would expect. Can I share my pitch with you, and have you give me feedback on what I might change to help my customers see the value we see? I’d also be very interested to hear what I’m doing well so I can be sure to keep doing it. I’d really appreciate any thoughts you can offer to help me improve my approach.”

Obviously, the language will change based on your relationship to the person you’re talking to and the subject of your request for feedback. But the concept remains the same.

Moreover, this start, stop, continue system for feedback doesn’t have to be tied to a specific incident. I bring my staff in, every once in a while, to give me feedback the same way. I set the meeting at the beginning of the day, when I’m most alert and receptive, keep it short, and ask them to offer suggestions on what I should start doing, stop doing, and keep doing. As they offer their advice, I don’t comment other than to ask questions to make their suggestions more actionable where necessary.

Paving a new path to success

I’m not going to promise that your first mission to solicit feedback won’t be a bit uncomfortable. It’s not something we’re all accustomed to doing, so it takes some time to get used to. The benefits, however, are extraordinary. Career development thrives on growth, and growth comes from soliciting and following feedback. The start, stop, continue method may not be comfortable at first, but it is easy. Give it a try and see where it takes you!