Getting the same feedback at work is one of the hardest things to shake.
It shows up in your review. You work on it. A year later it’s back, in slightly different words.
“Needs more executive presence.”
“Could be more strategic.”
“Needs to work on speaking up more.”
“Needs to work on listening more.”
You nod. You say thank you. Then you carry it around for weeks, because you don’t know what to do with it.
On Wednesday I wrote about giving feedforward instead of feedback. Today is the other side of the table: you’re the one hearing it, and it won’t go away.
This is the fourth of the five moments that tell you it’s time to get help with your leadership.
Key Takeaways
- Getting the same feedback at work more than once is common, especially for people who are good at their jobs.
- Repeated feedback is data, not a judgment. It tells you something is being noticed. It rarely tells you what to do.
- The word in your review is usually a label for something external, but the work you need to do is internal, a shift in thinking that will help others perceive you differently.
- You will sort out what’s internal faster with a guide than you will alone.
Why the Same Feedback Keeps Coming Back
Most feedback is written fast, by a busy person, in a form. What lands on the page is a label. “Presence.” “Strategic.” “Communication.”
A label is someone’s shorthand for an impression. You can’t practice a label.
So you do the sensible thing. You work harder at what you already do well. Your results get better. The feedback stays.
That’s the trap. It’s hard work, aimed at the wrong thing.
And as I said on Wednesday, feedback points at the past. Nobody is talking about what to try next.
It’s Common, and It Doesn’t Mean You’re Failing
Nearly every leader I work with arrives with a phrase like this.
It tends to appear right when the job has grown. A bigger team. A more senior audience. Decisions that reach further than they used to.
What made you successful is still there. The next level is asking for something in addition.
Getting the same feedback at work isn’t a sign you’re failing. It’s a sign you’re at an inflection point.
What Jim Found Underneath “Leadership Presence”
Jim was a VP of Research and Development at a pharma company. He had just been promoted and now managed a team of 20.
He was clear in our first session. “My goal is better leadership presence.”
Jim was a scientist. He was logical, and he expected others to be the same.
We never worked on presence directly. We worked on what was underneath it: noticing his own emotions, catching the little clues in other people, and empathy—thinking from the other person’s point of view.
In our last session he told me, “When I started coaching, I was just interested in executive presence, but now I realize that the fundamentals are really important.”
Presence wasn’t something Jim learned to project. It emerged as he became more intentional about how he led other people.
The label pointed at something real. It just wasn’t pointing toward what he had to do.
Where to Start
You don’t have to solve this today. Three small moves will get you going.
- Write it down, word for word. Every version you’ve heard, and who said it. Look at what the versions have in common.
- Ask one person for one example. “When did you last see this?” A moment is something you can work with. A label is not.
- Notice when it happens. Jim kept a journal for two weeks, noting when his emotions shifted and why. A pattern showed up in the data.
These will give you better information. They won’t tell you what it means. That part goes faster with someone outside the situation who has seen the pattern before.
Why Now
Reviews are being written this quarter. Now is the time to self-reflect and decide what you want to happen next. There is still time to show you are working on it and demonstrate progress. By February, most of the decisions for next year will already be set.
If getting the same feedback at work has become familiar, this is the season to break the pattern.
Plan Your 2027 Leadership Move
I’m holding a limited number of 2027 Leadership Plan calls this fall. It’s a free 45-minute conversation on Zoom.
We’ll talk through what’s changed, sort out what’s really going on and what you can control, and choose one first move for Q1. Within two business days you’ll get a one-page plan, no commitment necessary.
Limited slots, through December 16.
Book your 2027 Leadership Plan call
Keep Learning
Five Moments That Tell You It’s Time to Get Help With Your Leadership — the other four moments, and how to tell which one you’re in.
Feedforward Instead of Feedback — the giving side of this conversation.
Learn more about Jim’s journey in the journey preview library.
Find out more about the framework here.
FAQ
What does it mean when I keep getting the same feedback at work?
It means people are noticing something consistent. It does not mean you can’t change it, or that you aren’t good at your job. Repeated feedback is usually a label for something underneath, and the label alone rarely tells you what to do.
What if I think the feedback is wrong?
It might be. One person’s opinion is one data point. When the same theme comes from different people in different years, it is worth finding out what they are seeing, even if the word they chose is off.
Why hasn’t working harder fixed it?
Because effort usually goes into what you already do well. Feedback that follows you tends to be about how other people experience working with you, and more output doesn’t change that.
How is the 2027 Leadership Plan call different from a sales call?
You bring what’s changed and what you keep hearing. We sort out what’s going on and pick one first move for Q1. You get a one-page written plan within two business days, no commitment necessary.
