In his book Hidden Potential, Adam Grant wrote, "Don't ask for feedback, ask for advice."
He said when he first started teaching, he was afraid of public speaking and he knew he had to get better. Adam volunteered to give guest lectures to his friends' classes, and he gave feedback forms at the end of them. He said the feedback was massively unhelpful because when asking for feedback, he got cheerleaders and critics.
The cheerleaders applauded his best self, the critics attacked his worst self, and he didn't know what to do with the information.
This taught him to ask for advice. Adam began asking, "What is one thing I can do better next time?" He said the research shows that when you ask for advice, instead of looking backward, people shift their attention to look forward and they give you much more detailed suggestions for how you can change.
Adam says we all need coaches around us who see our hidden potential and help us become better versions of ourselves.
Asking for advice is how we create more coaches who can help us grow so we can help our teams and the people around us grow.