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Everybody loves the idea of feedback, defined broadly as information provided to someone about their performance, behavior, or actions. This makes a great deal of sense. Indeed, many studies have consistently shown that feedback from others plays an important role in helping us understand who we are, including how we differ from others. It is vital for improving managers and leaders performance and for helping people evolve and develop, both professionally and personally. Conversely, being feedback-deprived, or having a tendency to ignore it, increases the gap between how good you think you are, and how good you actually areat times, to painfully delusional levels. {"blockType":"mv-promo-block","data":{"imageDesktopUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/10\/tcp-photo-syndey-16X9.jpg","imageMobileUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/10\/tcp-photo-syndey-1x1-2.jpg","eyebrow":"","headline":"Get more insights from Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic","dek":"Dr. Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic is a professor of organizational psychology at UCL and Columbia University, and the co-founder of DeeperSignals. He has authored 15 books and over 250 scientific articles on the psychology of talent, leadership, AI, and entrepreneurship. ","subhed":"","description":"","ctaText":"Learn More","ctaUrl":"https:\/\/drtomas.com\/intro\/","theme":{"bg":"#2b2d30","text":"#ffffff","eyebrow":"#9aa2aa","subhed":"#ffffff","buttonBg":"#3b3f46","buttonHoverBg":"#3b3f46","buttonText":"#ffffff"},"imageDesktopId":91424798,"imageMobileId":91424800,"shareable":false,"slug":""}} And yet, people often fail to accept and internalize feedback. This is particularly true when the feedback is misaligned with how we view ourselves or at odds with what we think about the situation. Contributing to this failure is often the poor quality of the feedback, due to factors ranging from sender expertise and intention to the politics and bias of subjective character evaluations. Unsurprisingly, meta-analytic evidence suggests that 1/3 of feedback interventions are ineffective, and another 1/3 actually worsen recipients performance. Feedback, in short, has a poor track record. And especially poor for more senior leaders. High-quality feedback is thus particularly scarce where it is needed the mostfor those whose decisions and actions have the most far-reaching impact: in senior leadership. Why is this the case? The reasons First, when someone is powerful, others will go to great lengths to avoid upsetting or confronting that person, aware (consciously and not) that leaders have some power over their future, which explains why it is far more common for leaders to hear praise and compliments from subordinates than constructive criticism. A darkly comic illustration appears in Armando Ianuccis movie The Death of Stalin. When Stalin collapses, his inner circle hesitates, panics, and second-guesses itself, terrified of acting without explicit permission. No one dares to take responsibility, question assumptions, or deliver unwelcome truths. The satire works precisely because it exaggerates a real dynamic: when power is concentrated and fear is high, feedback disappears, initiative dies, and silence becomes the safest strategy. Second, hierarchical cultures and traditional leadership archetypes conspire against leaders ability to create the necessary psychological safety for candor. Unless effort is put into creating these conditions, team members will perceive a negative cost-benefit analysis when it comes to voicing issuesespecially with their leaders decisions or behaviorsversus holding back and staying silent. While this may boost leaders egos, fostering self-enhancing and delusional estimates of their own talentsit will severely limit their ability to improve and get better. How can anyone, including a manager or leader, get better if they are unaware of a gap between their self-views and their actual performance? Why would anyone, including a manager or leader, seek to change and evolve if their perception is that everything is fine? Third, when someone seems devoid of self-awareness, to the point of being not just immune to feedback, but almost un-coachable, people will see no point in providing them with feedback, as it would be wasted on them. Unfortunately, when others are of the opinion that leaders are incompetent, and that, on top of that, they are totally unaware of this fact, they lose respect for that leader and approach their interactions with them as they would with a delusional narcissist or mad person. What to do Fortunately, there is a booming industry (at times comprising science-based instruments like evidence-based 360-degree feedback surveys and personality assessments) to tell leaders what they need to hear, especially when thats not what they want to hear. Even in the absence of such instruments, here are five simple ways leaders can get better at receivingand ingestingconstructive feedback. Ask for disconfirming data, not general impressionsInstead of Any feedback for me?, ask narrowly framed questions that invite contradiction, such as What is one decision I made recently that slowed the team down? or Where did my involvement add least value this quarter? Research on feedback seeking shows that specific, behavior-linked requests increase both the honesty and usefulness of responses, while vague requests elicit politeness and noise rather than signal. Separate ingestion from reaction, deliberately and visiblyHigh-status leaders often kill feedback not by rejecting it, but by reacting too fast. A defensive facial expression, explanation, or contextual clarification is usually enough to shut people dow. Evidence from self-regulation and feedback intervention research shows that feedback is more likely to improve performance when recipients force themselves to pause evaluation and treat feedback as data, not judgment. One practical move is to explicitly say, Thank you. I wont respond now, so I can think about what youve said, and Ill come back to you, and then actually do so. Triangulate patterns, ignore anecdotesSingle pieces of feedback are typically biased, idiosyncratic, or situational. Leaders should resist reacting to one voice and instead look for recurring themes across sources, time, and contexts. Meta-analytic work on 360-degree feedback consistently shows that behavior change is most likely when leaders focus on convergent signals rather than isolated comments. Treat feedback like data analysis, not testimony. Outsource truth-telling when power gets in the wayAt senior levels, the social cost of honesty becomes prohibitive. This is precisely why structured mechanisms such as anonymous upward feedback, external coaching, or validated personality and derailment assessments outperform informal conversations. Research on power and voice shows that hierarchy systematically suppresses upward dissent unless safeguards are in place. Leaders who believe their open-door policies are adequate are usually the least informed. Publicly act on one small piece of feedback, fastThe strongest signal that feedback is welcome is not just saying thank you, but visibly changing something. Even a modest adjustment, communicated explicitly (Based on your feedback, Ill stop doing X and start doing Y), recalibrates the perceived cost-benefit of speaking up. Evidence from psychological safety research shows that follow-through, not receptiveness rhetoric, predicts future voice behavior. Feedback cultures are built behavior by behavior, not intention by intention. Taken together, these practices treat feedback less as a moral virtue and more as an imperfect but essential data stream. Leaders who learn to filter, metabolize, and act on that data gain something far rarer than praise: a realistic picture of their impact. {"blockType":"mv-promo-block","data":{"imageDesktopUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/10\/tcp-photo-syndey-16X9.jpg","imageMobileUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/10\/tcp-photo-syndey-1x1-2.jpg","eyebrow":"","headline":"Get more insights from Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic","dek":"Dr. Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic is a professor of organizational psychology at UCL and Columbia University, and the co-founder of DeeperSignals. He has authored 15 books and over 250 scientific articles on the psychology of talent, leadership, AI, and entrepreneurship. ","subhed":"","description":"","ctaText":"Learn More","ctaUrl":"https:\/\/drtomas.com\/intro\/","theme":{"bg":"#2b2d30","text":"#ffffff","eyebrow":"#9aa2aa","subhed":"#ffffff","buttonBg":"#3b3f46","buttonHoverBg":"#3b3f46","buttonText":"#ffffff"},"imageDesktopId":91424798,"imageMobileId":91424800,"shareable":false,"slug":""}}
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E-Commerce
In November, Apple laid off dozens of sales employees in a rather unexpected move for the tech giant. Apple is the rare tech company that has steered clear of mass layoffs, particularly among its peers in the trillion-dollar club. The layoffs came as a surprise for those who lost their jobs, according to a Bloomberg reportand they impacted some employees who had been with the company for decades. The post-pandemic job market has come to be defined by layoffs, in tech and beyond: A Glassdoor analysis finds that there was a peak in 2023, but layoffs have since continued at a more frequent cadence relative to the years prior. A variety of sectors have been hit hardand prominent employers like Verizon, Starbucks, and UPS have gone through multiple rounds of cuts this year alone, slashing thousands of jobs. But the tech industry has been uniquely reliant on layoffs as companies have gone through periods of overhiring and fluctuating priorities, with the rapid emergence of artificial intelligence now upending the sector. Since 2022, tech employers have laid off upwards of 700,000 workers, according to the tracker Layoffs.fyi. With the exception of Apple, which has conducted a handful of more targeted cuts in recent years, the Big Tech companiesnamely Amazon, Meta, Google, and Microsofthave laid off tens of thousands of employees over the last three years. There are just so many new grads coming out, trying to enter the tech industry, and they feel like the promise of a high-paying job in tech is just not really being fulfilled, says Daniel Zhao, Glassdoors chief economist and director of economic research. All this has led to a challenging environment for tech workers who are seeking new jobs and new graduates who are trying to find their footing. In the last two decades, Big Tech jobs held a certain cachet for millennial knowledge workers who were starting their careers. The sprawling campuses and free food were appealing, of course, but companies like Google also imbued their work with purpose and appeared to guarantee professional success. But as layoffs have roiled the industry, it seems as though the tech jobs that were once hailed as stable and desirable may no longer be a sure bet for workers. Unfortunately, layoffs aren’t really a last resort response anymore, says Brett Coakley, the principal executive coach at career consulting firm Close Cohen. Theyve become more of an annual planning tool. These workers that thought they were insulated are realizing that prestige doesn’t really provide the protection that they’re used to. The dream job has changed For years, these tech companies have promised both generous salaries and job security alongside lavish perks. Between recurring layoffs and strict return to office policies, however, something seems to have shiftedand its not just that the perks have dried up. Many large tech employers hired aggressively during the pandemic, only to turn around and lay off workers not long after. Companies like Amazon forced employees to return to the office five days a weekin some cases requiring that they relocate. The rise of generative AI is also radically reshaping tech companies, with many of them making multi-billion-dollar investments and courting top talent. Computer science graduates are finding it more difficult to land entry level jobsin part because those roles are steadily being automated. Some companies, like Salesforce, have already replaced certain workers with AI, while others have warned that job losses are on the way and that employees need to meet the moment and adopt AI technology. Mark Zuckerberg noted earlier this year that AI could supplant mid-level engineers at Meta, while Amazon CEO Andy Jassy has said employees who become conversant in AI will have high impact and help us reinvent the company. (Whether AI will actually cull jobs at a rapid clip is almost beside the point, though it seems like companies are reticent to name the other issues driving their business woesamong them immigration policy and tariffs.) The result is workers have become more hesitant to stake their careers on a Big Tech job, Coakley says. We see that folks that are coming into their early career have that same symptom, he says. Why would I go into this thing that isn’t stable? I can do a gig role, or I can do something that’s a little more skills-based. Or: Why do I need to go to a four-year college to get this degree if I’m not going to get a job? We’re getting a lot of that sentiment. Some workers who are early in their careers are looking at smaller companies or trying to bolster their AI skills for when the pendulum inevitably swings back and Big Tech starts hiring again, according to Coakley. Zhao argues that the high-paying job in tech still has its allure, though it feels increasingly out of reach for some new entrants to the industry. The number of workers who have been unemployed for over six months has ticked up as hiring has slowedand college-educated workers now comprise a greater share of them. These Big Tech companies are still very attractive jobs, Zhao says. If you ask any new grad, Do you want to go work at Google? I think most of them would still say yes. It’s just a question of how you actually get your foot in the door. What this means for tech workers old and new Its not just people early in their career who are reevaluating where they want to work. The current climate has revealed that tenure and seniority wont necessarily preserve your job, particularly when companies are chasing AI talent. For older employees who built their careers at Big Tech companies, the unease permeating the tech sector has sparked questions about how long they can expect to remain in their jobs. We had a lot of folks atthe beginning of the year coming to us after a layoff, Coakley says. So they didn’t see it coming, or they weren’t expecting it. [Now] I’ve started to see a lot of that other end of the spectrum, where people are being proactive and saying, I don’t know if this is going to be here for me in six months. Experts often say layoffs have a clear effect on company culture, and Glassdoors analysis supports this idea: The volume of Glassdoor reviews surge by over 40% in the week following a layoff, and they continue to be referenced in reviews months later. Zhao points out that some companies seek to avoid the negative attention and press coverage that accompanies a mass layoff by making smaller, more frequent cuts. But tech workers can still see whats happening, and Coakley says some of them are taking preemptive steps to carve out a new path. The mid- to senior-level [employee] has really sort of built their identities inside of one corporation, he says. They’ve lived inside that bubble of Big Tech, but now that the bubble is sort of thinning, they’re asking themselves: Who am I outside this company? Coakley has found that some senior employees are now interested in fractional roles, or startups that offer more work-life balance. People are realizing that they’ve been relying on corporations for stability, he says, and that’s no longer viable. Amid a tough hiring market, even workers who have soured on their Big Tech jobs may be scared to make any drastic moves. But that could change when the market eventually turns aroundto the detriment of these employers. If we see the balance of power shift back towards employees and away from employers, then a lot of this can change, Zhao says. And to some extent that’s a risk that employers should be paying attention to as well. The culture of Big Tech may have changed, but workers have also changed accordingly, growing more emboldened by the upheaval of the last five yearsand the realization that their employers are no different than their peers across corporate America. I think the fact that workers feel so stuck right now, Zhao says, means that once the job market opens up again, all of those workers are going to hit the door.
Category:
E-Commerce
Youve landed. You leave the chaos of the airport behind and drop into the chaos of a new city. Its big, loud, and full of opportunities . . . and tourists. If you want to experience this new city like someone who actually lives there, you need tools that help you skip the lines, ditch the tourist traps, and navigate the local landscape with insider confidence. Forget the default maps and review sites everyone uses. Here are three genuinely free, under-the-radar apps that will transform you from a wide-eyed visitor into a savvy urban explorer. Atlas Obscura The biggest mistake a traveler makes is sticking to the big red arrow on the generic tourist map. If you want to find a citys overlooked history, oddball museums, and secret public gardens, you need a guide for the curious. Atlas Obscura is exactly that guide. The free app is a comprehensive, community-generated catalog of the world’s most wondrous and peculiar places. The crucial feature is the map view, which instantly pulls up hundreds of fascinating and unique points of interest near your current location, turning a simple walk into a genuine treasure hunt. Citymapper Once youre in a dense city, a car is often a liability. And while public transportation is an obvious strategy, navigating a new subway, bus, or ferry network can feel like trying to decipher ancient hieroglyphics. Citymapper is a public transit solution built by people who actually ride the subway. If youre visiting New York, London, Chicago, or any of the supported major cities, this app will not only calculate the fastest route, but it will tell you hyper-specific details that Google Maps often misses. The standout feature is its granularity: It gives you the best subway car to board so you exit closest to your destination, provides real-time train and bus arrival times, and blends every mode of transportfrom shared bikes to ferriesinto one comprehensive itinerary. Roasters If youre a serious coffee drinker, you know the despair of being stuck in a new city with only generic chain coffee shops. Finding a true, quality local experience often requires hours of tedious searching and review-sifting. Roasters is a free app built by coffee enthusiasts for coffee enthusiasts, specifically curating over 21,000 specialty coffee shops worldwide and cutting out the chains to focus only on independent businesses known for quality beans and preparation. The community-driven discovery map highlights shops that are often off the beaten path and lets you check reviews from fellow coffee lovers who share your high standards.
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E-Commerce
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