Have you ever been evaluated at a job (such as a yearly evaluation), by a client, or asked for honest feedback as a blogger?
I’ll go first.
The toughest feedback I ever got came from a supervisor. It was tough – but it was honest. I was not being a team player, and that was the truth. That type of work and its environment shifted often, and I don’t like to shift unless I am being the shifter (just being real with you guys).
So, my attitude wasn’t exactly wonderful. Couple that with the awful truth that I (usually) don’t care what people think about my attitude, and well, you can see how well that would work in a team setting (not).
Because the feedback was so on point, I felt I had no choice but to improve. I felt really let down – by myself – because I knew I could try harder than I had been. By the time the next evaluation came around, I was told I had improved significantly in the “team player” area.
Your Turn
What was the toughest feedback you ever got? Why was it tough and what did you do about it?
Check out the video on Fast Company’s 30 Second MBA by Maureen Broderick. She doesn’t really answer the question, but there is some significance in what she is saying, which is that tough feedback has a consequence if it is not acted upon. In real life, that is the case. If you ask for feedback, or are subject to it because it’s part of your job or because you run a business where customers provide feedback, you have to be willing to devise a plan to act on that feedback.
(Link will open in a new window)
My Feedback for 30 Second MBA
Make your videos embeddable. (Yes, I did leave this feedback on their facebook wall, so hopefully they will get it)
Feedback is very necessary for smooth working environment, because if there is no proper communication between staff and management then it will create problems for company in future. So, in every business either it is small or big feedback is must necessary.
The toughest feedback is that from complete strangers and usually about my blog content. When my family or friends render criticism it is conveyed with love so it is easier to accept. Complete strangers on the other hand are loose in their wording and their tone and it comes off as judgmental. Yet… I listen closely to their gripe and ponder their position. I almost always find a morsel of truth in how I could have written something more diplomatically, or considered positions beyond my own. It’s not fun, but I do grow and that is part of gaining wisdom.
Constructive criticism is what I like to call it. It’s easy to give and harder to take. I’ve learned over the years to just listen (apply what fits), and ignore the rest. I think some companies go a bit over board in this area. I had one job where I found myself in the office more often than I’d like to admit. Most of the time over something silly. At this particular job, all one had to do was file a complaint and next thing you know, you’re in the office (I worked in healthcare). Funny thing is, it was always the same person complaining. Feedback is good when it’s coming from a sincere person (that truly wants to help you).
Toughest feedback comes from my wife. Unfortunately she’s usually right with her insight. It might be that she brings up reasons why one of my ideas won’t work or it might be a character trait that I’m exhibiting. I think being in business with her and being married to her both give her an unfair advantage here – don’t you think? =)
Hi Tia,
The toughest feedback I have ever gotten was in reference to my own website. As a web designer, I wanted some feedback on my own site, I wanted to know what first-time visitors thought of the website – was it clear and easy to use, etc.? So I used both Feedback Roulette and Feedback Army which allow people to give you feedback anonymously (Feedback Army is a paid service, Feedback Roulette is free). Some of the feedback was very constructive and ultimately showed me areas of my site that were confusing to first-time visitors and really needed to be improved, which is exactly what I wanted. On the other hand, some of the feedback was fairly harsh – telling me that I had a “long ways to go” before I became a professional web designer. That was hard to hear because, I AM a web designer! However, I had to realize that obviously my website was not reflecting my design skills well to that visitor and I needed to improve that. So, overall – even though some of it was hard to hear, it was well worth asking for feedback and also learning how to take that feedback and use it to my own benefit.
Hey Libby – That’s great that the feedback ended up helping you make some changes. That happens here as well. I am not a fan of criticism; I’ve had to learn to accept it over the years!
You know what’s kind of lame? I’ve worked for people who either don’t give feedback or who go straight to writing up (for silly things, too, like I didn’t reply to an email quick enough. lol), instead of talking about it and giving feedback.
I used to emphasize to my employers, “PLEASE give me feedback if I’m doing something wrong. I WANT to improve!” And yet none of them listened. Weird, isn’t it? I wonder why some employers don’t like giving feedback.
Hey Morgan!
Probably because they are terrible with people. Honestly it took me a long time before I was ever able to give constructive feedback. I was able to do it when everything was going right, but not when things were going wrong. I was mostly afraid of hurting feelings.
All I can say is that it gets better with practice! But I do think that’s probably the main reason behind the lack of feedback – the fact that they don’t know how to give it properly.
You are right Tia. It is really a delicate balance and an essential one to get right. But frankly, I think it is better to receive hard feedback than ignore the issue. Sometimes hard feedback was the only kind that I could accept and if I did something wrong I’d want someone to point it out to me rather than just go on smiling.
However, the feedback has to be constructive. I could take hearing a firm comment from someone I respected or even if I didn’t like them particularly, if they could explain their reasoning. If someone ever just said I did a bad job but didn’t say why, I would feel they were a bad manager for offending someone without getting anything out of it.
Toughest feedback I ever got was from a consultant who had been hired to save a struggling manufacturing company. Another woman and I were developing a new inventory control system. (The antiquated system they were using consisted of written index cards.) Together, we developed a simple numbering system (for their product line) that would expedite ordering and manufacturing.
The feedback from the consultant? We were being too “analytical”. He refused to implement it and developed his own system. What did I learn? It was time to move on. We both thought there were worse things to be called than analytical.
What he really wanted was the spotlight, lol.
You were right to file it in bad feedback and move on.
I don’t know if the feedback itself was too tough, but back in the day when I first got out of college I was working a super-crap job at a loading dock.
I remember they called me in for my review and told me my raise was so small because “I didn’t take initiative”. Dude, I’m unloading a TRUCK. What kind of initiative do you want for $7.50/hr?
Besides, I’d seen what happened to people who made suggestions anyway -they were smacked down hard and branded as troublemakers.
I think the toughest part of the whole feedback was how hard I had to struggle to NOT flip the table over on those guys. There were three of them on their side and only me on the other, so they might have flipped it back over on me.
Trust me, you DON’T want a “reverse-table-flip” to happen. Very embarrassing.
Some companies are so bad at employee relations and career development. They take a great opportunity – something like feedback – and crush its potential.
I, too, have a very hard time with overbearing employers who paid people low wages. That makes no sense at all. To whom much is given, much is required. To whom little is given… well, you get what you pay for!
And three on one is more than a little ridiculous! They sound like terrible people to work for.
Hi Tia:
30 second MBA is very attractive title and everyone will be attracted to it. Well yeah this kind of situation can put some people behind once or twice. These events usually occur in younger people. Now I am matured for a long time and I teach these things to the community how to be prepared. My children. I have two boys, they are very skilled professional and more personally developed than me, as they learned from me. I am proud of their professional skills. But I know these situations, and they do happen, as part of growing up.
I liked, the way your post is written, and it reminds me to think of the past. Everyone learns and behaves better knowing the something that happened in the past.
Make it a great valentine day for yourself.
Fran A
Thanks, Fran! So far, so good. I hope your Valentine’s Day is lovely, also.
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