When Your Manager Says Be More Strategic, Ask for an Example
One in four. That is how many U.S. employees strongly agreed, in a Gallup-Workhuman survey fielded in April 2024, that they receive valuable feedback from the people they work with. So if your review says “be more strategic” and stops there, you are not imagining the gap. The phrase names a quality without describing any work. The fix is not more effort. It is one conversation built around one real example, followed by a short written note. None of this guarantees a promotion, but it replaces a vague adjective with something you and your manager can both look at.
Key takeaways
- “Be more strategic” points at a gap without describing it. Your job in the meeting is to turn the adjective into an example.
- Bring one recent piece of work your manager knows, and ask what someone at the next level would have noticed or decided differently.
- Federal guidance on performance standards asks that they be measurable and written down, and, where numbers do not fit, that someone define who judges the work and what they would look for.
- Keep the conversation pointed at the next attempt. In one set of experiments, future-focused discussions drew more acceptance than rehashing the past.
- Write a short follow-up in your employer’s approved system. A promotion can still depend on openings, budget or a separate selection process.
Why the phrase leaves you stuck
A Harvard Business Review piece by Melody Wilding, published on April 14, 2025, opens with exactly this problem. Comments such as “be more strategic” may be well meant, it says, but without specifics or concrete examples you do not know what success looks like or what to change. It adds that as people advance they are expected to make decisions with less direction and to interpret ambiguity on their own, which makes clear feedback matter more, not less.
It is common at the senior end too. A 2017 HBR article by Sabina Nawaz describes a vice president who asked her boss what she needed to do to advance. He said she should be more strategic. When she asked for specifics, he said he would point out examples when he saw them. The article treats that as typical: senior leaders rarely get specific feedback from the people they report to.
A short 2025 HBR tip adapted from the Wilding piece makes one more point worth stealing: broad prompts such as “Do you have feedback?” often fail to produce anything useful. A specific question gets a specific answer. That is what the rest of this guide is for.
Bring one real piece of work
Pick a recent task your manager knows: a proposal, a customer handover, a call on competing deadlines. Ask which part showed the judgment they want and which part could have been stronger. A concrete project lets you both examine something, and it keeps the talk away from a debate about your personality.
A question that works: “In that project, what would someone at the next level have noticed or decided differently?” It invites a comparison you can use. Then say the answer back in your own words before you leave the room. If you cannot repeat it, you do not have it yet.
- Choose one project, not a year of work.
- Ask what was strong, then what could have been stronger.
- Ask what the next level would have done differently.
- Restate the answer and check you understood it.
- Agree on a date to talk again.
Turn adjectives into something observable
The U.S. Office of Personnel Management’s guidance on developing performance standards, written for federal agencies, says standards should be objective, measurable, realistic and in writing. It covers quality, quantity, timeliness and cost-effectiveness. And where a number does not fit, it says to define who will judge the work, what factors they will look for, and what they would see or report to verify the target level. Private employers have their own systems, so ask what yours uses. The logic still travels: a standard someone can observe beats a standard someone senses.
Here is how that might look. These are illustrative, not a list of what your employer wants. Your manager has to say what applies to your role.
| What you heard | A question that makes it concrete | What someone could observe |
|---|---|---|
| Be more strategic | In that project, what would the next level have decided differently? | A tradeoff explained before the decision, not after |
| Think ahead | Which dependency or risk should I have raised, and when? | A dependency named before the project was approved |
| Show leadership | Where did you want me to make the call or bring in another team? | A recommendation with the reasoning and the right people consulted |
| Manage your priorities | If two deadlines collide, which one wins? | A priority order your manager has agreed to |
The right-hand column is the point. If you cannot picture someone watching for it, ask again.
Keep it pointed at the next attempt
Expect some of the examples to sting. A 2020 study in PLOS One by Gnepp, Klayman, Williamson and Barlas looked at how the framing of a feedback conversation changes how it lands. In their experiments, discussions that dug into why past performance happened tended to produce defensiveness, and recipients questioned both the feedback and the person giving it. Conversations focused on next steps and practical ideas for succeeding produced more acceptance and stronger intentions to change, even when the feedback was mostly negative. The authors note that the studies used role-play simulations, so real workplaces may differ.
The practical translation: when the example is critical, do not argue about last quarter. Ask what you should try on the next similar project. “What would you want to see from me next time?” is a better question than “Why do you think it went that way?”
Make room for the work, then check the result
If the conversation produces a new responsibility, ask how it fits with what you already carry. Which deadline wins? Who can get you the information? What authority do you have to make the call? A development task is hard to judge when the time or access it needs never shows up.
Then write it down. Send a short follow-up with the agreed example, the action you will try and a date to review what happened. Keep it in your employer’s approved system, and do not copy confidential work into personal accounts.
| When | What to do |
|---|---|
| Day 0 | Meet, use one project, restate the answer |
| Within a day or two | Send the written follow-up: example, action, review date |
| Mid-point | Short check-in on how the new approach is going |
| Review date | Bring the actual result, including what did not work |
This is a suggested rhythm, not a rule. Adjust it to your employer’s review cycle.
Check the example before the next formal review
When you have tried the agreed approach, bring back the real result. Ask whether it shows the skill your manager meant or whether you missed something. That can make your next formal review more specific, even if a promotion still depends on openings, budget or a separate selection process.
If the expectation keeps changing, keep your earlier notes and ask your manager to reconcile them. You are entitled to a description of the work being assessed, not an open-ended instruction to be more of something nobody has defined.
Frequently asked questions
What if my manager cannot give me an example?
Ask for a date by which they will. In the Nawaz story, the manager promised to point out examples later, with no date attached. You can also ask who else could speak to the work. OPM’s guidance, written for federal agencies, notes that a peer or the recipient of the work can sometimes be a better judge than a supervisor. Whether that fits your workplace is a question to raise, not assume.
Should I ask in the meeting or in writing?
Both, in order. Have the conversation first, because examples come out better in talk. Then write the follow-up so the agreement exists on paper. The sources we reviewed do not prescribe one format, so this is a suggestion, not a rule.
Does this guarantee a promotion?
No. It makes the expectation clearer. Promotions can also depend on openings, budget or a separate selection process, and your manager may not control them.
Is this the same as a formal performance standard?
Not necessarily. OPM’s guidance covers federal agencies. A private employer may use different documents, ratings or tools. Ask your manager or HR what applies to you and how development goals are recorded.
Before you decide
Count the steps: one project, one question, one written follow-up, one review date. If a month from now you have an agreed example and a result to discuss, you have turned a vague comment into something specific. If the target keeps moving, that is information too.
Sources
- Get Clearer, More Actionable Feedback (Harvard Business Review, Melody Wilding, April 14, 2025)
- Get More Actionable Feedback from Your Boss (Harvard Business Review, April 25, 2025)
- Get the Actionable Feedback You Need to Get Promoted (Harvard Business Review, Sabina Nawaz, October 31, 2017)
- Developing Performance Standards (U.S. Office of Personnel Management)
- The future of feedback: Motivating performance improvement through future-focused feedback (PLOS One, 2020, Gnepp, Klayman, Williamson and Barlas)
- Organizations Can Redefine Feedback by Including Recognition (Gallup, Andy Kemp, October 23, 2024)
Last updated: November 2026. This article is general information, not legal advice. Employment guidance here is general; employer policies and the law vary by workplace and location.
