Managing Your Career (HBR Working Parents Series)

3

Get the Feedback You Need

by Carolyn O’Hara

Quick Takes

• Understand your strengths
• Focus your limited time for professional development
• Check in on how you did in the moment
• Ask, “What’s one thing I could improve?”
• Probe for specifics

You need feedback to learn and grow, and if you’re waiting for your annual review to find out how you’re performing, you’re not getting enough of it. But how do you get the focused input you need? And if your boss is stingy with pointers and advice, how do you encourage them to give you more? Who else should you be asking to help you improve?

What the Experts Say

Receiving feedback can be “a stressful experience,” says Ed Batista, an executive coach and an instructor at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. ...