Developer Tea · March 5, 2025

Owning and Requesting Forward-Framed Feedback

This episode provides a tactical question to elicit useful feedback by taking responsibility for seeking it out and framing the request in a way that encourages advice rather than judgment.

  • Understand that your manager giving you feedback is your responsibility, which means you should actively seek it out rather than waiting.
  • Discover how a simple question can shift the dynamic with your manager to get better feedback, focusing on advice for the future rather than dwelling on past behaviours.
  • Learn the tactical question to ask your manager: "What do you think will hold me back from growing?" or a modified version like, "What do you think will hold me back from getting X promotion?".
  • Explore why framing your feedback request as seeking advice is more effective because managers generally enjoy giving advice and it focuses on future improvement.
  • Understand that the intent is not to analyze past behavior but to identify potential roadblocks to future success and growth.

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