Why ‘Feedback’ Is Overrated
Here’s what to ask for instead
If you’re really looking to get constructive criticism at work, don’t ask for feedback.
That may sound counterintuitive in today’s world of performance evaluations, project postmortems, and 360-degree reviews. Modern work culture is all about feedback, and we’ve invented plenty of ways to deliver it. But each of these opportunities has the same fatal flaw: They all operate under the assumption that the person receiving that feedback will take what they hear and use it to improve.
According to a new working paper out of Harvard Business School, that’s not always the case, because often people don’t get anything usable. If you ask for feedback, you’re more likely to get fuzzy, nonspecific observations than concrete tips. “It’s just not the ideal way to solicit input,” says co-author Jaewon Yoon, who studies organizational behavior at Harvard. “If you want to feel good about what you did, ask for feedback. People are more likely to give you an overall assessment, [like] ‘You did a good job.’”
But if you’re trying to learn where you need to improve and how to do better, the researchers found, one small wording tweak can help: Swap out “feedback” for “advice.”
Focusing on the future results in people who are happier and…
