How to Turn Feedback Into Career Momentum

Research & Sources / Corporate Professional Growth

When you take a wrong turn, your GPS doesn’t complain or get offended. It simply says “recalculating” and finds a new route. Within seconds, you are back on track. Feedback can work like that: a signal that helps you correct course quickly. For most of us, though, feedback feels less like a GPS and more like criticism.

Why feedback is hard to hear

Feedback touches our sense of who we are. Even helpful comments can feel like an attack, and our first instinct is often to explain, defend or dismiss. That reaction is human. But it also means we miss much of the value.

Avraham Kluger and Angelo DeNisi found in a large review that feedback improves performance on average, but in about a third of cases it made performance worse, especially when it shifted attention to the person rather than the task.¹ How feedback is given and received matters a lot.

Ask for the right kind

“Do you have any feedback for me?” usually gets a polite “you’re doing great”. Better questions:

• “What is one thing I could do differently in meetings that would make a difference?”
• “In the last project, what should I keep doing, and what should I stop?”
• “If you were in my position, what would you focus on improving?”

Specific questions get specific, usable answers.

Receive it well

Listen fully before answering.

Ask for an example: “Can you tell me about a moment when you noticed that?”

Say thank you, even if you disagree. You want people to keep giving you feedback.

Take time before deciding what to do with it.

Turn it into momentum

Pick one thing. Not everything at once. Choose the one piece of feedback that would make the biggest difference.

Make a specific plan. “When I enter a meeting, I will ask two questions before giving my view.” Peter Gollwitzer and Paschal Sheeran’s research shows that such “when-then” plans make it much more likely that we follow through.²

Show the change. After a few weeks, go back to the person: “You mentioned this. I’ve been working on it. Have you noticed a difference?” This closes the loop and shows that you take feedback seriously, which is exactly what people remember at promotion time.

Feedback builds self-awareness

Tasha Eurich’s research suggests that most people overestimate how self-aware they are.³ Regular feedback is one of the most reliable ways to see yourself as others see you, and to recalculate early.

What this means for you this week

• Ask two people one specific feedback question.
• Thank them, whatever they say.
• Choose one point and write a “when-then” plan for it.
• Put a reminder in four weeks to ask whether they see a difference.

Wrong turns happen. Say “recalculating”, and keep going.

Sources

1. Kluger, A. N. & DeNisi, A. (1996). The effects of feedback interventions on performance. Psychological Bulletin, 119(2), 254-284. doi.orgFeedback improves performance on average, but in about a third of cases it made performance worse, especially when it targeted the person rather than the task.
2. Gollwitzer, P. M. & Sheeran, P. (2006). Implementation Intentions and Goal Achievement: A Meta-analysis. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 38, 69-119. doi.orgAcross 94 studies, specific “when X, then Y” plans substantially increased goal attainment.
3. Eurich, T. (2018). What Self-Awareness Really Is (and How to Cultivate It). Harvard Business Review. hbr.orgAbout 95 percent of people think they are self-aware, an estimated 10 to 15 percent are; “what” questions help more than “why” questions.