PSA: A manager told me my status updates were useless - here's the fix

They said I was just listing tasks instead of showing impact, so I started adding one sentence on why each thing mattered to the project. Has anyone else gotten feedback that completely changed how you communicate at work?

2 comments

2 Comments

king.wyatt4d ago

Adding that one sentence is a decent start but it still misses the mark if you're just saying "this matters because X." Your manager probably wants to know the real outcome not just the reason. Like instead of "Finished the login page redesign because it was a security update" you should say "Finished the login page redesign which cut phishing incidents by 40%." The difference is showing a measurable result versus just explaining your task. Impact means numbers, time saved, or problems actually solved not just intentions. Without a concrete result attached that extra sentence is still just more words.

daniel_lane302d ago

Isn't it possible that adding numbers just makes people focus on the wrong thing though? Sometimes the real value is the process itself not a flashy stat that was cherrypicked.