If you're not getting enough feedback, how should you ask for more?

Leaders are busy, feedback is uncomfortable, if I wait there may be something coming. These are some excuses why most employees do not get enough feedback to do their best work every day.

If you're suffering from feedback famine, what can you do to get more feedback when you need it most?

Here are our recommendations to get more feedback.

When you need more feedback

  1. It's Ok to ask. Leaders aren't psychic and may even be in different locations to you. Let them know you need some feedback from them, so that you can do your best for them. It's in their best interests to help you.

  2. Widen your coaching circle to include co-workers, and customers. Anyone who observes the behaviours you want to work on can potentially coach you, not just an appointed leader/manager. So ask them for feedback too.

  3. Be specific. Rather than asking "Can I get some feedback?" or "How did I do?" ask "How can I improve at xxxx over the next few days/weeks/months"?

  4. Give feedback upwards, you'll be surprised what you learn once you start a feedback conversation by showing interest in your leaders success.

  5. Offer up your strengths. By asking "How can I use the things I'm good at to help more?" you're opening the door to finding the strengths others see in you, and using them more.

  6. Use completion of work, or milestones in your work as an event to elicit feedback.

  7. If your manager isn't checking in, schedule a check out with them, a friend, even with yourself. Coaching guru Marshall Goldsmith checks out every day with a brief conversation covering these questions. He's coached others to do the same, and almost all have seen improvement in themselves:

    a) Did I do my best to set clear goals today?
    b) Did I do my best to make progress toward my goals today?
    c) Did I do my best to find meaning today?
    d) Did I do my best to be happy today?
    e) Did I do my best to build/maintain positive relationships today?, and 
    f) Did I do my best to be fully engaged today?

Pay Compliment includes Feedback Requests, Friend Invitations, Peer to Peer feedback and Manager Feedback tools to help you manage yourself to peak performance, and it's free to try.

How do you get the performance signals that you need? If you have other suggestions or when you try out these techniques, we'd love to hear from you in the comments.


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