“What was hard? Where did you struggle?”

A suggestion I nearly always make to the partners with whom I work is that they ask these questions every time they get an assignment back from an associate - particularly if the assignment was complex and/or the associate hasn’t done this kind of work much before. (If the associate has experience with the work and/or the work isn’t complicated, I suggest asking “Where should I focus my attention? What most needs my input?”). These simple questions can:

 -Save time. Often after a short conversation, the associate is in a position to improve the work right away, without the partner needing to review and revise. And the revised draft is that much easier to review and edit.
-Reduce unpleasant surprises. It’s frustrating and stressful to get work we think (or just hope) is near complete and is, in fact, not. It’s better to know what to expect before starting to review – that way, we can plan/adjust our time accordingly. And when we do review it, we may get a good surprise instead. The work product may be better than advertised.
-Make giving feedback easier. One of the reasons, partners say they resist giving feedback is their fear that the associate will have a negative reaction. If we know they struggled, we don’t have that worry. We know they understand they need to improve.
-Increase our trust in the associate. By asking the associate to assess their work product, we get a sense of their judgment, and their ability to spot and raise issues.
-Convey support and investment in their development.
 
Sometimes none of this happens – but that’s rare. Generally, partners tell me these questions speed up the development of their associates and allow them to delegate more, sooner.