Jobs @ Career Consulting Limited

Return to career-consulting-limited.com
Managing
People
Managing Your Career
CV Examples
Coaching
Cover Letter Examples
Pre-Employment Tests


Feedback: Take It or Leave It ... But Get It


The expense was substantial. An immersion workshop with twelve participants sharing a common goal to hone their skills. With nervous eagerness like kindergarteners embracing school, we received input, critique, and suggestions about our work. Some of the feedback I used. Some of it I didn't. But all of it was helpful.

I haven't always viewed feedback that way. At times in my career, I've taken it more like a personal indictment than a helpful gauge; an intruder I needed to defend against, rather than input I needed to evaluate. I've even found myself akin to a workshop colleague who said he wanted input, but when he got responses different from what he expected, he argued and debated and explained. What he wanted was praise or input he agreed with, not honest reactions.

You see it's not enough to ask for feedback. You have to be open to receive it. After three days of our colleague's defensiveness, any willingness to offer anything but cursory input was stomped out. His argumentative actions lost him an opportunity for connection with fresh voices and new input. And we lost an opportunity to practice giving helpful feedback with authentic insights and thoughtful reflection.

I learned a painful lesson about seeking feedback in my first management position. Given a large assignment, I was proud of what I produced, certain it would be received as an outstanding product. Instead I discovered my work was mediocre at best and significantly flawed because I failed to seek feedback and assessment from the end users along the way. Relying only on my own thoughts and perceptions was a big mistake.

Over the years in the corporate world, I learned to view feedback as data. The more data I got, the more information I had to improve what I was working on. Realizing I was in charge of how I used that feedback data, I learned to seek it. Feedback is opinion; not fact. It's something to evaluate; not blindly accept.

But, I find when several people have the same perception, it's good to listen. When I get insights I hadn't thought about, it's good to consider them. When input is mixed, it's good to follow my instincts. But when people provide feedback with a hatchet, finding only fault rather than offering ideas for improvement, it's good to look at it with distant curiosity.

Bottom line: if you want to be winning at working you must learn to seek and offer well-intentioned feedback. I think of it like the Sicilian proverb: "Only your real friends will tell you your face is dirty." Let input, suggestions, and feedback be real friends at work.

(c) 2004 Nan S. Russell. All rights reserved.

Sign up to receive Nan's free biweekly eColumn at http://www.winningatworking.com. Nan Russell has spent over twenty years in management, most recently with QVC as a Vice President. She has held leadership positions in Human Resource Development, Communication, Marketing and line Management. Nan has a B.A. from Stanford University and M.A. from the University of Michigan. Currently working on her first book, Winning at Working: 10 Lessons Shared, Nan is a writer, columnist, small business owner, and on-line instructor. Visit http://www.nanrussell.com or contact Nan at info@nanrussell.com


MORE RESOURCES:






Careers  City of Phoenix (.gov)



Working for ICE  ice.gov

Careers  University of Northern Colorado



Careers  City of Ontario, California (.gov)

Careers at FEMA  FEMA.gov


Careers | Home  USDA (.gov)

Jobs  Multnomah County

Careers and Jobs at CRS  Catholic Relief Services


Careers - MDOT  Maryland.gov

Work at Fairfield  Fairfield University

Careers  Baxter




Employment Opportunities | Game Commission  Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (.gov)

Careers at USCIS  USCIS (.gov)


Careers at TWU  Texas Woman's University



Work at Butler  Butler University




Faculty and Providers  RUSH University System for Health

Water Services Careers  City of Phoenix (.gov)

Job Search Results  UnitedHealth Group Careers

Jobs  City of Rochester (.gov)

Employment | Department of Corrections  Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (.gov)

Work With Us  National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (.gov)


Career Opportunities  Gilead Sciences

Careers  Johnson & Johnson


Careers at Willamette  Willamette University

IOM career gateways  International Organization for Migration


Careers  Washington State University

Careers  BASF

Full-time jobs for students  Johnson & Johnson Careers

Careers at the IOC  Olympics.com

Jobs at Liberty University  Liberty University



Student internships at J&J  Johnson & Johnson Careers


Work for the City of St. Louis  City of St. Louis, MO (.gov)

Certified Direct Care Professional (CDCP)  Wisconsin Department of Health Services (.gov)


Careers  WV Department of Education




Careers  The Ocean Cleanup

UF Health Careers  UF Health Careers

Job Seekers  Illinois Human Resources

Careers  CrowdStrike


Careers at Union  Union College



March 2025 Preview: What to Expect in the Jobs Report  Center for Economic and Policy Research








Provincial Government Job Opportunities  Government of Prince Edward Island

Human Resources Department  City of Phoenix (.gov)


Current opportunities  Turner & Townsend




Careers  Euromonitor

Job Opportunities  Bellevue School District










Work at UI Health Care | University of Iowa Health Care  University of Iowa Health Care Medical Center

Need More Information?
Site Home | Site Map | Links | Contact Us | Privacy Policy
© Career Consulting Limited.com 2011

tumblr visit counter