Do You Get Any Feedback At Work?

We’ve been watching the BBC series Mother, Father, Son – the story about media mogul Max Finch, played by Richard Gere. In one episode, Max determines that his son is not leadership material, he’ll never run the company. Why? Because his son makes the mistake of asking his father for feedback. “How did I do?” he asked after fielding questions at a news conference. 

It feeds the mistaken notion that leaders don’t need input, that they can’t learn something from someone else’s perspective, and, in Max’s case, asking for feedback is a mortal sin. It also speaks to the stereo-type of the type-A personality who insists on perfection over excellence and regards any request for feedback as a lack of virtue.

Of course, there are all kinds of examples of CEOs who would subscribe to Max’s vision to varying degrees and they have been wildly successful. But it doesn’t mean they’re right.

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From the checkout counter to the C-suite, we all need feedback in our work.

Most of us want to know that somebody’s at least paying attention to what we’re doing. At best, we get some insight into the things that make us successful. That feedback can come from our managers, our staff, our clients, our co-workers and even our competitors.

I’m no HR specialist. I only rely on the experience I’ve had over the past 35 years or so working in major market newsrooms in Canada. More often than not, I was called up to be a leader in those rooms. I was never afraid to ask for feedback. But looking back, I probably didn’t ask often enough and I most certainly didn’t provide it often enough.

Seeking out and providing feedback in the workplace could well be the least expensive, most effective form of professional development and one of the simplest of ways to increase employee engagement.

Do you get and give professional feedback? Does it make a difference? Then again, maybe I’m over thinking this. Wouldn’t be the first time !