Soliciting advice rather than feedback produces more actionable input according to a study by Harvard Business School. The study reviewed six different studies and found that asking for "feedback" resulted in passive, ambiguous input, while asking for "advice" led to focused improvement in four of the six studies. Just substituting the word "advice" for "feedback" improved the quality of guidance received and helped employees improve in the future. The study concluded that seeking advice or feedback is an interpersonal process that depends on the relationship between employee and employer, but taking a more interpersonal approach results in more useful input for employees.

1. Soliciting Advice Rather Than
Feedback Produces More
Actionable Input According to
Harvard Business School
Frances Bridges Contributor Sep 30th
, 2021
Two colleagues GETTY
Soliciting feedback at work is integral to professional development, yet
pursuing feedback is only weakly related to performance according to a
study by Harvard Business School. Despite employees consistently asking
for guidance, & taking different & creative approaches, employers struggle
to give the feedback employees need. When supervisors give hasty or
passive feedback, employees stop asking for it. Because what’s the point,
right? Smart, self-aware employees will look for different mentors within
the company or start applying for jobs to see if they can develop elsewhere.

2. Harvard Business School addresses this discrepancy by reviewing several
studies & determined which methods of seeking feedback were most
effective for employees. How someone asks for guidance, down to the word
choice, made a difference in the quality of feedback.
After reviewing six different studies, the world-renowned business school
found that asking for “feedback” solicited ambivalent, passive input that
was not future oriented. But if the employee asked for “advice” four of the
six studies show they went on to focused improvement much more
consistently than employees who asked for “feedback.” So just the simple
word substitution made all the difference in the quality of the guidance they
received & helped the advice seeking-employee improve in the future.
They concluded that the advice seeking / feedback seeking process is an
interpersonal one that often depends on the relationship between the
employee & the employer but taking a more interpersonal angle resulted in
the actionable input employees are were seeking.
Follow me on Twitter.
Frances Bridges