As we wrap up the year and head into the holiday season, many of you are taking a well‑deserved break—stepping back, recharging, and hopefully celebrating everything you've accomplished over the past twelve months. I'm doing the same. And even though I'm pausing new episodes for a bit, I still want to leave you with something meaningful to support your growth during this important stretch of the year.
Because for a lot of professionals, the end of the year isn't just about holidays and downtime. It's also the season of annual reviews, performance conversations, and honest career reflection. It's the moment when you're asked to look back at what you've delivered, look ahead at where you want to go, and—most importantly—absorb the feedback that will help you get there.
That's why today, I'm bringing back a practical and timely episode: Episode 74 – Acting on Feedback.
Feedback only becomes valuable when you actually do something with it. Whether your annual review left you energized or a little disappointed, the key to making next year better is the same: take the feedback you've received, understand it, and turn it into action.
And that's exactly what Episode 74 focuses on. This episode digs into the part of the process most people struggle with—not receiving feedback, but interpreting it, prioritizing it, and translating it into meaningful, targeted steps. Because here's the truth: feedback is almost never as simple as the words someone says out loud. There's always context, nuance, and intent behind it, and understanding that is what unlocks real growth.
I hope you enjoy revisiting Episode 74, and I hope it gives you clarity and confidence as you step into the new year. When I'm back from the holiday break, we'll dive into fresh topics, new strategies, and more tools to help you manage and accelerate your career.
In Episode 12, I discussed some strategies for soliciting effective feedback (https://www.managingacareer.com/12). However, feedback is only as good as what you do with it. This week, I'm going to take a look at how you can best act on the feedback that you receive.
The first step in acting on feedback is understanding what is driving the comment. In the previous episode, I suggested that when receiving feedback, you should ask clarifying questions along the lines of "Can you explain that in more detail?" or "Tell me more." The goal with this clarification is to turn high-level, generic comments into something more specific.
If you receive feedback that you need to "improve your communication skills", there could be several underlying causes and each one would be addressed...
