Day 15: Ask a senior coworker for a peer review
Your managerโs feedback is useful but peer feedback hits different. Itโs often more specific, more honest and more immediately useful.
๐๐๐ธ ๐ฎ ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ถ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ฎ ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐ฒ๐ on your code, communication style, problem-solving approach, or collaboration skills.
Loveena Sharma sought such feedback when she was leading the GMail developer productivity team. It helped her supercharge her own communication and collaboration skills leading to impactful project landings and strong peer support!
๐จ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐๐ฐ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฝ๐: "I'm working on developing my [specific skill area] and would really value your perspective since you have strong expertise in [relevant area]. Would you be willing to give me some honest feedback about [specific area]? I'm looking for actionable insights to improve."
๐ช๐ต๐ ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ธ๐:
โ Leads with respecting their expertise and experience
โ Shows you value their professional opinion
โ Demonstrates commitment to continuous improvement
โ Builds stronger cross-team relationships
๐ช๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ฝ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ณ๐๐น:
โข Comes from someone doing similar day-to-day work
โข More specific and immediately applicable
โข Often more candid than formal reviews
โข Creates mutual learning opportunities
๐๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ ๐ฎ๐ด๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฒ: Be specific about what feedback you want and create a safe space for honest input. Follow up on how you're implementing their suggestions.
๐๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐'๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ต๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐๐ฎ๐ป๐: Suggest a smaller scope or offer to reciprocate with feedback in their area of growth.
๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ผ ๐๐ถ๐ฝ: This positions you as someone who actively seeks growth and values others' expertise - qualities that make you a stronger collaborator and team member.
When you ask for feedback from peers, youโre not just leveling up your skills, youโre making your invisible growth ๐ท๐ช๐ด๐ช๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฆ.
๐ Liked this post? Follow me on LinkedIn or here on Substack for the remaining posts in this series and more!
โ Want to get even better at asking? I still have a limited number of seats left in the July 25 cohort of my course. Last cohort of this year! https://maven.com/chaitali-narla/outstanding-tech-career