11
Getting my layer cake right after three tries made me rethink team feedback
Honestly, I spent all Sunday trying to bake a layered birthday cake for my mom, and the first two were complete fails with soggy middles and lopsided layers. Tbh, I was ready to buy a store cake, but I watched a video on oven placement and crumb coating, and the third cake came out flawless. It made me realize that at work, when we give feedback on projects, we often just point out what's wrong without showing how to fix it, just like my first failed cakes. My team lead always sends back edits with vague comments, and I used to get frustrated, but now I see it's like not knowing why your cake is sinking. After that baking win, I started asking for specific examples in feedback, and it's helped me improve way faster. Ngl, applying kitchen patience to my daily tasks has made remote work less stressful. I guess sometimes a baking disaster can teach you more about communication than any training session.
4 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In4 Comments
irisowens1mo ago
Have you noticed how often we give vague instructions in other parts of life, like telling a kid to "be good" or a partner to "help more"? It's the same problem, where the person receiving the message is just left guessing what you actually want them to do. I see it all the time in simple stuff, like when someone's learning to drive and you just yell "watch out" instead of saying "check your mirror.
5
ray_williams1mo ago
I mean, irisowens is totally right about the "be good" thing, it reminds me of when my doctor told me to "reduce stress" after some blood work. I was like, cool, but how? For three months I just tried to watch TV more, but then my partner pointed out I was still checking work emails at midnight. Turns out he meant set actual boundaries, like no screens after 9. It's wild how even experts give the baking equivalent of "cook until done" sometimes. You just end up guessing and usually getting it wrong.
5
granthunt1mo ago
Oh man, this hits home. I once told my friend my pasta sauce "needed something" and she put in like three tablespoons of salt because I didn't just say it needed basil. It was like eating the sea. And my famous "crispy" cookies are usually just burnt because the recipe said bake until "golden brown" which is apparently a very personal, unclear vision. I'm basically the king of vague instructions, so getting clear feedback feels like a gift now.
1