by Melody Wilding
Have you ever been on the receiving end of vague feedback? Maybe your manager has said that “you need to be more strategic.” Or perhaps they’ve mentioned that they want to see you “deepen your knowledge of the business” or that they wish your direct report was more of a “team player.” On the one hand, you may appreciate hearing their take, but on the other hand, you might feel frustrated that their guidance isn’t actionable or clear. Without specifics or concrete examples, you’re left guessing what success looks like and at a loss for exactly what to change.
This happened to Maya, Managing Editor at a media company, who was trying to parse through her latest performance review. During the session, her boss had said, “Everything seems to be on track, but keep pushing for innovation.” On the surface, this sounded somewhat encouraging, but as someone responsible for shaping coverage and developing talent, Maya needed more specifics. Was she driving the right long-term priorities? Were there unspoken concerns she should be addressing?
The higher you advance, the more common this kind of ambiguity becomes. The executives, board members, or clients you report to are often busy, and the feedback they give tends to focus on softer, more subjective qualities. Things like “acting as a thought partner,” “motivating through vision,” and “driving alignment” are often hard to define and even harder to measure. In an ideal world, feedback on these behaviors would be delivered with precision and in a way that’s immediately useful. But the leaders you work closely with, like all of us, are imperfect humans operating in imperfect conditions. Your boss may be overwhelmed, an abstract thinker who struggles getting down to the nitty-gritty details, or someone who simply never received training.
Nevertheless, you can’t afford to let vague feedback slide, because the impact doesn’t stop with you. The lack of clarity trickles down to affect your team’s priorities, slows decision-making, and creates confusion across the organization. Translating vague input into actionable insight is a skill. Here’s how to get the direction you need from your manager.
Ask better questions
When you seek your leader’s perspective, you may naturally ask high-level questions like “Do you have any feedback?” or “What did you think?” The intent here is good—you don’t want to steer their thoughts or appear like you’re fishing for compliments. But broad questions can unintentionally lead to replies that are all over the board. For example, you ask your manger, “How did my presentation go?” You’re hoping for suggestions on your slides, but they start criticizing your posture, and now you feel self-conscious.
Ask more specific questions to get more specific answers. For example, “What’s one thing I could have done differently with how I shared the market analysis?” or “How could I have addressed the CEO’s question about the budget more accurately?” By narrowing down what you want to know, you encourage your manager to drill into the areas you care about the most.
Guide them toward your goals
When your manager knows what skill you’re working on and why their feedback matters, they’re more likely provide a thoughtful response. You might say, “I’m focused on making my emails more concise. Was the executive summary succinct?” or “Delegating tasks is my biggest development area. What changes have you noticed in how I assign work?”
After Maya’s vague performance review, she emailed her boss, connecting her quarterly goals to his feedback: “Looping back to your comment about pushing for innovation. One of my goals this quarter is to experiment with new story formats, including adding more multimedia. Could we talk about what you’re seeing work best right now across the industry or in our analytics?” This subtly signaled that she took her professional growth seriously and expected meaningful guidance, not just lukewarm encouragement.
Present binaries
When you present your manager with two clear options, it prompts their brain to compare and contrast them. This type of framing, known as forced choice, has been shown to speed up decision-making because it allows the other person to easily react to options laid out before them. For instance:
- Would you prefer I handle the negotiations independently or bring you in for the final decision?
- Is the challenge with this campaign the messaging or the target audience?
- Should I spend time mentoring junior team members or taking on higher-visibility projects?
This approach works particularly well with big-picture leaders who tend to think and communicate in broad strokes. Instead of hoping they’ll be specific, guide the discussion so you get the feedback or decision you need.
Pay attention to non-verbals
If you’re not getting the direction you need from your boss verbally, look to their body language and behavior for information. For example, if you notice their energy visibly drops when you’re explaining how you handled a disagreement, that might suggest concerns about your approach—even if they outwardly say it “sounds alright.” Similarly, if they keep glancing at a specific section of your report while saying “this looks good overall,” follow up and probe deeper: “I noticed you spent more time on the finance section. Did something stand out to you?”
Highlight the consequences
Many leaders don’t realize that their communication style isn’t working for you because it’s their default, not because they’re intentionally holding back. So explicitly—but diplomatically—state your preferences. Try, “I learn best from examples. Is there a particular moment where you saw this issue come up?” or “It helps me most when feedback is tied to specific situations rather than general patterns.”
Respectfully explain how a lack of specific feedback impacts your work as well. You might point out, “Without details, I might focus my energy in the wrong areas and waste time we don’t have,” or “Tactical guidance would help me deliver better quality because I wouldn’t have to experiment.”
. . .
As you advance, you’re expected to make decisions with less direction and make sense of the ambiguity around you. More often than not, the responsibility of getting clarity—whether around priorities, expectations, or your and your team’s performance—falls on you. The better you get at translating feedback from abstract to actionable, the more effectively you can deliver results.
Source: HBR