18 tips for getting constructive feedback from your manager

Not all managers are good with feedback. Especially if you’re doing a standard job, they might not have clear ideas on how you can improve. So instead of asking “How am I doing?” — which usually gets you a vague, “You’re doing fine” — make it easier for them to respond. Ask for feedback in a specific, low-effort way, like: “Would you prefer I handle this task using option A or option B?” or “Is there anything I could do differently next time to make this smoother?” It gives them a simple choice instead of a blank question. And it also shows you’re thinking about how to do things better without putting them on the spot. Over time, they’ll start to see you as proactive and easy to coach — which is the kind of employee most managers value.

Get in the habit of tracking your wins with your manager starting week 1 of your first job.

When I bring on new people (particularly new grads), I tell them to start tracking the most important things they do and problems they solve. We usually do it in a spreadsheet or a running email, and you only need 1 or 2 bullet points per week. I’ve seen this kind of thing defuse the situation when you ask, “How am I doing?”

For a junior content strategist we hired, it might have looked like this: how she clarified the client brief and how she provided two backup content ideas that accelerated project approval. By sharing that kind of detailed list every week, the manager can give specific feedback and assignments as if they were sitting in the same room. Three months later, her portfolio of jobs had grown by 30%. And during her review, the manager could see exactly how she’d impacted the velocity of the team’s work.

Get in the habit of tracking “ripple effects” in addition to what you delivered.

Push your manager to think not just about the things you did, but the ways they helped the company move forward, even if you’re miles removed from the frontline scrums. For another team member who’s more of a support role, it might have been not just the resolved tickets, but the time-saving tips shared with the team. This turns generic feedback into real conversations, with numbers and stories on both sides.

By proactively creating a shared feedback trail, you build trust, keep managers in the loop, and make feedback less daunting. This pattern should translate to any industry. And it usually helps early-career people fast-forward their learning curve and get credit for the real impact they have.

Ask for feedback regularly; don’t wait for your formal annual performance review to have the discussion. Some great times to seek feedback are right after completing a project or presentation, or after adding key contributions in a meeting setting, when the details are still fresh for both you and your manager. Frame your request around your opportunity for growth and development — ask, “What’s one thing I could improve next time?”

This shows humility, initiative, and your genuine desire to get better and grow. Feedback is a gift and should be received as such.

Your professional growth is your responsibility. Take ownership of your growth. After key moments or milestones, ask your manager for one quick takeaway: “What’s something I did well, and what’s one thing I could do differently next time?” (Like a “start, stop, continue” exercise). Keeping it short, specific, and timely (like a SMART Goal) makes it easy for them to respond and opens the door for ongoing coaching. You can use your weekly 1:1 meeting time to address your professional growth and set goals. If you aren’t already having a regular 1:1 with your manager, you can initiate it and schedule time on their calendar for this purpose.

Think of feedback as a two-way conversation, not a performance critique. When you ask your manager for feedback, start by sharing your own reflections first — what you think went well and what you’d like to improve. Doing this invites a deeper dialogue, shows self-awareness, openness to coaching, and illustrates your desire to continuously improve and grow. The more you normalize these conversations early in your career, the faster you’ll grow and develop in your career.

I found early success by requesting detailed feedback about particular situations and results instead of general performance assessments. I replaced the general question, “How am I doing?” with, “What could I have done differently during that supplier meeting?” This approach provides your manager with specific feedback points while demonstrating your commitment to learning. The accumulation of these small moments creates trust, which enables you to receive more substantial guidance.

I realized early in my career that the best way to receive quality feedback is to make it easy for your manager to give it. After a project or task, I began asking specific questions: “What’s one thing I could have done better in communicating that update?” instead of a general, “Do you have any feedback?” That small switch unlocked deeper conversations and turned feedback from a once-in-a-while awkward event to part of my regular workflow.

One of them said that I had made them more “invested” in me from a growth perspective and had subsequently connected me with new opportunities. The trick is to be curious, not insecure, to seek feedback in order to improve, and not just to get validation.

At the beginning of your career, you can use feedback as a part of normal dialogue. Managers usually appreciate employees who take their own initiative, and they especially appreciate that coming from someone who would like to grow and improve.

A good way to ask for feedback is to be specific. “What is one thing I could improve on my project next week?” or, “Is there something I could change in the way that I work that would make your job easier?” This shows accountability, and it is easier for your manager to provide specific and constructive feedback.

Additionally, documenting the feedback you received and then following up later (after you have made the effort to try out their suggestions) will help you get more guidance from your managers, too. Once you start trial and error, your manager will see you are taking it seriously and continue with more general guidance, and it’s all about trusting each other in the end. Also, you will keep growing, both professionally and personally.

One of the best ways for an early-career employee to seek feedback from their manager is to make it specific and forward-looking. Instead of asking, “How am I doing?” — which often leads to vague answers — try asking something like, “What’s one thing I could improve on in the next few weeks to make your job easier or strengthen our team’s results?” That kind of question gives your manager a clear focus, invites constructive input, and signals that you’re eager to grow in ways that directly support shared goals.

Timing also matters. The best feedback conversations happen when they’re part of normal workflow, not just during formal reviews. Bring it up at the end of one-on-one meetings or after completing a project when results are fresh. That shows initiative and keeps the dialogue continuous rather than episodic.

Once you receive feedback, reflect it back to confirm understanding — something like, “So if I understand correctly, you’d like me to give more context in my project updates?” — and then follow up in the coming weeks with visible progress. When a manager sees you acting on feedback quickly and effectively, it builds credibility and deepens trust.

The key is to approach feedback not as evaluation, but as collaboration. Framing it as a shared effort to improve the team’s impact makes the conversation comfortable for both sides, and it demonstrates maturity far beyond your experience level.

When you are early in your career, the best approach to asking for feedback is to structure your request around growth, not evaluation. Rather than asking your manager the general question, “How am I doing?” you might say, “What is a specific area I could improve on that would have the greatest impact on our team?” This distinguishes you from others because it shows you are genuinely committed to growing as an employee and as a leader. Managers tend to appreciate specific questions looking forward as they demonstrate initiative and a desire to learn.

This provides a direct path for your manager to give you specific, actionable feedback, rather than vague reassurance. Additionally, this creates a growing cycle of communication with your boss, demonstrating that you take your growth as an employee seriously. You’re also building trust and autonomy, showing that you’re an engaged, proactive, and coachable employee.

An effective tip for entry-level candidates seeking feedback from their manager is to ask for specific, forward-looking feedback rather than the usual, “How am I doing?” Instead, you should try asking, “Which part of this project should I take more ownership of?” or, “Do you think I can make any improvements in my weekly reports?”

When you ask specific questions, you give managers an indirect commitment to continual growth in your job. This positions you as a more trustworthy employee to be promoted or receive a raise since you show genuine interest.

Getting feedback is a skill, and as with any skill, there isn’t one exact script to follow…there’s a way to “tell” people you want to get better. And one tactic that is surprisingly effective more often than not is asking your manager how they would have approached the same situation in your position. It works because it telegraphs humility without the whiff of desperation. You’re not groveling for validation. You’re requesting context. That small shift alone can unlock better, more actionable, detailed coaching than a simple, “Any feedback for me?”

I think this is especially powerful if you’re in sales (or sales-adjacent) where drive matters more than perfection. The manager gets to see how you approach problems through your process, which means they can coach you more effectively and at scale. It also re-wires feedback from a special occasion to a normal routine. Bottom line, it’s less about practicing questions, and more about being genuinely curious about their thinking. That’s the fast path to improvement.

I’d say the single biggest underutilized technique is to pre-brief your manager. Literally, 30 minutes before a 1:1, send them 3 bullets of what you worked on, what was good, and what was unclear. You don’t need a saga, just enough info to give them a mental warm-up. Managers are dealing with 20 Venn diagrams in their head at a time, and when you do this, it changes their mode from reactive to reflective. I mean, when was the last time you enjoyed being on the spot instead of responding to a gentle nudge? That’s an easy, small change that eases the burden on them…and makes you look good by default.

Plus, it establishes an expectation that you seek the concrete over some non-answer or vague pat on the head. Eventually, they’ll start coming to you prepped as well. You may even start to extract 3-4x more tangible learnings than hallway conversations and quarter-end check-ins. I’m willing to say that this practice alone makes you sharper, faster, and far more aligned without ever having to utter, “Can I get feedback?” aloud. As I mentioned, it’s the devil in the details.