Speaker 1: Good morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the New Corner Office,
Speaker 1: the podcast where we share strategies for thriving in the
Speaker 1: new world of work where location and hours are more
Speaker 1: flexible than in the past. Today's tip is to seek
Speaker 1: out more feedback, especially when you're working remotely. As anyone
Speaker 1: who's ever sweated while waiting for a teacher to return
Speaker 1: a test can tell you, getting feedback isn't always fun.
Speaker 1: Putting yourself out there and waiting to hear what others
Speaker 1: think of your best efforts can be mildly stressful at
Speaker 1: best and downright terrifying at worst. However, plenty of research
Speaker 1: and common sense tells us that actively seeking out feedback
Speaker 1: can help us perform better at our jobs. People who
Speaker 1: seek out feedback tend to be more creative, and our
Speaker 1: scene is more effective by their peers and supervisors and
Speaker 1: direct reports. No matter how advanced you are in your career,
Speaker 1: there are always places to improve. Remote workers, in particular,
Speaker 1: can become somewhat isolated and stuck in our own routines,
Speaker 1: and we generally talk less to others during the work day,
Speaker 1: so we get less casual feedback. In a recent episode,
Speaker 1: I mentioned that managers should commit to doing virtual hallway
Speaker 1: coaching impromptu guidance after any teachable event. But in case
Speaker 1: here supervisor isn't listening to this podcast, well, you'll need
Speaker 1: to actively seek out such feedback. The good news is
Speaker 1: that doing so isn't rocket science. The best way to
Speaker 1: ask for feedback is to ask, Yes, these requests can
Speaker 1: feel awkward, but so what feel the nerves and do
Speaker 1: it anyway? Send the person you'd like feedback from a
Speaker 1: friendly email and let them know that you'd like to
Speaker 1: set up a check in meeting to discuss your performance.
Speaker 1: You can also just pick up the phone and call,
Speaker 1: or ask if the other person can stay on the
Speaker 1: line after your next video conference. While people tend to
Speaker 1: most want feedback from their supervisors, don't discount colleagues. They
Speaker 1: can see how you lead meetings or how you explain
Speaker 1: ideas to clients. They might have thoughts, so ask as
Speaker 1: you ask, remember that specific questions are most helpful. If
Speaker 1: you were truly in hot water, you would probably know that.
Speaker 1: So if nothing terrible is going on, the question how
Speaker 1: am I doing? Is most likely to elicit a great
Speaker 1: and while nice, that doesn't give you much to work with,
Speaker 1: So instead try questions, like our clients seemed a little
Speaker 1: distracted on that last call. What do you think I
Speaker 1: could have done differently to keep him more engaged? Or
Speaker 1: I'm working on making my presentations tighter. Could you look
Speaker 1: at three slides with me and give me some pointers.
Speaker 1: While feedback is generally helpful, remember that it is not infallible.
Speaker 1: If you disagree with someone's suggestions, that's fine. You can
Speaker 1: thank the person for the feedback and then do what
Speaker 1: you wish with their thoughts. This is one reason I
Speaker 1: suggest soliciting a lot of feedback. Any One comment is
Speaker 1: what it is. If you keep hearing the same thing
Speaker 1: over and over again from many people, well that's probably
Speaker 1: worth investigating. So whenever you get feedback from someone, see
Speaker 1: if you can arrange this more regularly. You and a
Speaker 1: colleague might check in with each other every week to
Speaker 1: compare notes. Hopefully your boss does regular one on ones
Speaker 1: with you, but if she doesn't, well ask to have
Speaker 1: them and come to each of these chats with prepared
Speaker 1: questions or work in hand for her feedback. She'll quickly
Speaker 1: see how useful these sessions are, which will probably encourage
Speaker 1: more such behavior in the future. Hearing feedback it isn't
Speaker 1: one hundred percent positive can be jarring, but rather than
Speaker 1: fret about this, try to see it as an opportunity.
Speaker 1: Olympic athletes and professional musicians get feedback all the time.
Speaker 1: That's why they're so good at what they do. So
Speaker 1: seek out feedback whenever you can, and your future self
Speaker 1: will thank you. Probably your boss will thank you too.
Speaker 1: In the meantime, this is Laura, thanks for listening, and
Speaker 1: here's to succeeding in the New Corner Office. The New
Speaker 1: Corner Office is a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts,
Speaker 1: visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get
Speaker 1: your favorite shows.