What's the best (worst) feedback you received?
23 replies (most recent on top)
+35 years at EM in different specialist roles, (previously) all MPT jobs: "You do not have a university degree so unfortunately you cannot be promoted to MPT. But we are very satisfied with your contributions". At a lower salary than MPT colleagues doing the same or similar jobs, I can imagine EM is "very satisfied"!
The worst comment ever: "you are very ambitious"- I bet a man never has to hear those words!!
I have seen numerous people being promoted to MPT, some with no degree at all (I am a bachelor), I have seen all of my predecessors in all of my previous and current roles been promoted to MPT, some even retroactively. They were all men though, and some women but of a different nationality than me.
I did 35 years of MPT classified jobs and have been ranked (can we still use that word?) year after year as outstanding, very good or good, depending on the supervisors at the time. Since many years now I am "too old", I am a woman "without degree" (yet with plenty of experience and expertise), I am honest (also to VP's & Co) and don't accept any BS, from anyone, I refuse to "network" in the coffee corner to "increase my visibility", (aka brown nosing), I do not use the buzz words and have no time for Yammer or the likes. Salary still good but should have been higher.
That is the choice I made and the price I paid, for always speaking my mind –> no sponsor to push me up the salary ladder! My ambitions have shrunk considerably now, it is a daily count down to the most happy day of my life: retirement!
Senior manager told me "Yes, you are getting royally screwed, but that is how things work around here, you know that. It's not personal. Everyone gets screwed sooner or later"
The worst feedback I’ve heard was from a friend who said her boss asked “if her house was on a slab?” Asked her age then said, her pension would be discounted. WTH did any of that have to do with her feedback? She sat trembling holding back every profanity she could think of then called the Employee Hotline to report a sighting of stupid management at the campus.
Worst: “you aren’t helping (a particular employee) you have to make him successful.” The employee was an unqualified minority who wasn’t interested in work. My response was, “no one made me successful except me.”
Best: “your not like most employees here.” I took that as a compliment and said, “Thank you”, a few months later I was PIP’d. Making more money now and a better company that is smaller.
“You leave your Skype on Red 24/7, so people perceive you as unapproachable”
You’re incredible (you’re a dipshit)
You’re lacking visibility to leadership
I can’t recall examples mentioned at the ranking meeting so I don’t want to give you inaccurate information. Let’s work together on the next cycle.
“You have to much passion.”
There are good employees reporting to recently promoted to Sups or Mgrs with no idea how to lead or rank. Their direct reports paid the price.
“Let’s not open a can of worms”
“Well there’s a bucket and the bucket is only so big. Sorry but this year you got screwed.”
“Your results are excellent but the teams doesn’t think you’re inclusive. Be more inclusive and listen to their ideas, even the bad ones.”
“You know how the system works.”
This is one of the fall outs of the matrix management black belt id–ts. They have no mentoring capabilities and only are good at prolific let's have a meeting. Where group think committee non-decision occurs. The only thing that ever gets acted upon is the current emergency, because no executive decision was made to deal with the foreseeable problem(s). This is just human nature, making a rash decision is better than nothing and if you wait long enough, the problem either goes away because some one else steps up, or it has fester so long no one wants to touch it. Expecting a warm and fuzzy, you do a good job bob, isn't going to come from one of these losers.
@1iss+179hkXoA - yep, I had that "visibility" one thrown at me many times. Afterwards, I always wondered: "Hey - you're my manage, my advocate in the ranking meetings. You've told me that you only have a maximum of 3 minutes to speak on my behalf - it's YOUR job to make me visible!"
Other "helpful" feedback that I've received:
From my last supervisor: "If someone's only interaction with you is a department meeting and you don't seem engaged, they're going to rank you low"
From the supervisor before him: "I don't know what to tell you, Joe", and "I don't know what you want me to say, Joe"
From the supervisor I had 8 years ago: "Unfortunately, you're over 50 and the company really isn't interested in advancing your career. It's much more important to rank early career folks high, to keep them motivated".
That last one really stung at the time and the words were burned into my brain, but I guess he was also the only honest supervisor I ever had!
It is what it is.
Don’t rock the boat!
"you don't play the game"
While deciding between PIL or PIP, I had a chat with my Division Manager (3rd line supervisor or boss's, boss's, boss) who told me I was the best troubleshooter and engineer in a technical department with 50 people but I wasn't competitive against my peers (a refinery rank group of at least 100 people, where 90% are supervisors), so I would be placed in the NSI category. I was then told that my PIP would be passable and was encouraged to take the PIP by the Division Manager. I took the PIL instead to break the cycle of deceit. I've since been told I was flagged as a "regretted loss" from multiple reliable sources, which is possibly the best feedback I've ever been given... validation my NSI wasn't justified and I took the right option to walk away.
"Doing an excellent job in your basescope is good but its not the thing that gets you ranked well"
- some SLS-
You are not “visible” enough. That’s the most common phrase I’ve heard as feedback from many colleagues..and yes, everyone is talking. It’s total BS! But, I’m capable of doing twice the work that you dumped on me because of the “non lay-offs”. Management is a joke!!
"You had the best year I've ever seen for a young employee. I just don't know how to distill it into concise points for ranking"
Why being there for 20 Years says 0 about management potential.
He walked into ranking and surrendered his entire team to massive falls. I went from top 10% to bottom of top third due to his managment abilities.
Anything that’s non-specific or worse, no feedback at all but you’re “in the middle” and “we don’t have any points to give”.