You want to get better at something but receiving feedback or critique can sting. What do you do?
If you pride yourself on the quality of your work, it can be hard to invite others to ‘pick it apart’ and find the things that should be improved.
I’ll be the first to admit that I find it difficult to get feedback. Mainly because I put a ton of work into the things I do. It feels like I couldn’t have done any more. And then someone finds the things I should have done. That’s hard to take.
So here are my recommendations for receiving and inviting feedback that doesn’t hurt and that helps you grow.
Is feedback really helpful?
When someone gives you constructive feedback that you can act on to improve your work, it’s a sure way to help you grow your knowledge and skills and become a more competent professional.
It’s important, though, that the feedback is genuinely constructive and is something you can actually use.
“This is rubbish”, for example, isn’t constructive or in any way useful.
Should you always ask for feedback? Yes and no. Yes you should generally ask for it, but not on things that are trivial and that you’re fully capable of checking and correcting yourself.
Use feedback as a way to close gaps rather than to fish for compliments.
How to ask for feedback
Over the past 6+ years I’ve provided a lot of feedback to data professionals, especially on their data visualizations. That means I have also received a lot of requests for feedback and I can tell you one sure way that isn’t going to give you the best feedback: asking “can you give me feedback on this?”
Why? Because it’s too broad. And it’s a lazy question because it puts all the effort on the person giving feedback – you’re making them guess what you need help with.
What do you want feedback on? Is it a specific part of your project that you’re unsure of? Do you want to know whether what you’ve written will resonate with the target audience? Do you need help checking the logic of your argument?
When you ask for feedback, be specific and tell people what you want help with.
Acting on feedback
When someone gives you feedback, take action. If they were unclear, ask follow-up questions.
Improve your work with their input and let them know how they helped you. Otherwise people will be less inclined to help. Because would you if you feel like someone just wasted your time?
Even if you just make small adjustments, let people know. It’s nice for them to see the impact they’ve had.
My favourite way to receive feedback
I told you earlier that I find it hard to receive critique, no matter how constructive it is.
But I’ve found a way that really works for me so I want to share it in the hope it will help you too.
Rather than focusing on where I went wrong, I find it really useful to hear what I could do instead. Having an alternative route explained to me means I can take action straight away and see what happens.
I’ve done this many times at work. Not dwelling on the past but finding a different way forward.
And now with our baby. There is so much trial and error involved in parenting – and I had no idea!
So when I struggle with something, I ask professionals for help and they always have options I can try. Once I hear about those, I’m usually really excited to give things a go and then I’ll know straight away if ‘the new way’ will work for us or not.
The ‘wins’ I’ve achieved this way is getting Annika to go from ‘fussy in the pram’ to happily snoozing in there while my friend and I completed out first ‘baby walking Parkrun’ last weekend.
I’ve also managed to find a way to help her fall asleep in her bed. It’s not reliable yet but it’s a start.
So when you have the chance to ask for feedback, think about the above:
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How can you be more specific in your request for feedback?
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Who are the right people to ask?
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What will you do with the feedback?
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And is there a specific way to receive it that most resonates with you?
Have a great week!
Eva