Simply Said

CHAPTER 14 Do You Have a Minute? Sharing Meaningful Feedback

When I was an associate at a law firm, I was in a colleague’s office when a partner walked in, clearly annoyed. He threw a letter on the desk in front of my colleague, a junior associate, and asked, “What’s wrong with this?” in an irritated tone. The junior associate stared blankly at the document, trying to figure out what could possibly be wrong. Had he left out some important information? Was it addressed to the wrong person? Was the caption wrong? The font? Embarrassed, he stared wide-eyed at the document for a moment, when the partner suddenly leaned over the desk and jabbed at the second paragraph. “It should be ‘will not,’ not ‘will.’ Fix it.” The partner walked out. Needless to say, it was not a textbook case of an effective professional development moment. For those of you thinking, “Yeah, but I bet that associate will proof his documents more carefully in the future,” you miss the point. It’s not whether the person got the message about the accuracy of his work. It’s about how he got the message, and the ancillary message that came with it.

Giving feedback to junior colleagues is an essential part of being a more seasoned professional. Every time we convey to someone how he has performed on a task, we have not only an opportunity to develop that person professionally, but to build a relationship that says: “My job as a more experienced person is to help you grow and become a better professional.” The tone ...