Key Takeaways
A message about pace, not worth
When a manager says that the work is good but the pace needs to improve, the core message is usually about speed and timing, not about a person’s value or basic ability.
Small habits can change how speed feels
Clear daily priorities, tiny check-ins during a task, and brief questions when stuck can make work look and feel faster without turning life into a race.
Strong emotions are part of the picture
A tense feeling after feedback is a normal reaction of the brain to possible danger; understanding this reaction helps to stay calm enough to use the feedback instead of fighting it.
Story & Details
The sentence that keeps echoing
In many workplaces, a short line from a manager can echo for a long time: “Your work is good, but it needs to go a bit faster.” At first, this may sound like two messages at once. One says the work is solid and useful. The other says the way it arrives is not matching what the team needs. The person hearing this might fixate on the second part and forget the first.
The mind often turns such a sentence into a much harsher story: “Everything is wrong,” “I am too slow,” or “I will never catch up.” Yet the original statement is usually more limited. It does not ask for a new personality, new skills, or a new job. It points to one area: tempo.
How the brain hears feedback
Studies on feedback and performance suggest that many brains are built to notice danger more than safety. A positive phrase can slide past quickly, while a small criticism sticks. Research on positive and negative feedback in real work settings has found that supportive, specific praise can help people perform better in later tasks, while some kinds of negative feedback may not bring the same gain in results.
This tilt toward the negative can explain why a calm comment about speed feels like a personal attack. The body might react with a tight chest, shaky hands, or a wish to escape the room. None of this means the person is weak. It shows that the brain is trying to protect against loss of status, income, or connection with the team.
Turning a sting into a plan
When the first strong emotion becomes softer, the same line from the manager can become the start of a clear plan. It can help to repeat the full sentence with care: the work is good; the pace needs to improve. The first part is permission to keep using the skills that already work. The second part is an invitation to adjust the way the work flows through the day.
A short, respectful answer can support this: “Thank you for telling me. It helps to know the work is good. I will work on my speed. It would also help to know which tasks are most urgent for you.” This kind of reply is simple, steady, and free of drama. It signals listening, shows a wish to improve, and opens space for more detail.
From there, it becomes easier to design a small, realistic change. One helpful idea is to choose two or three key tasks for the day and treat them as the main targets. When those “main three” are done, the day already counts as a success. Any extra work becomes a bonus, not a new demand. This view can lower stress and make it easier to move with more focus and, as a result, more speed.
Small habits that change how others see speed
The pace of work is not only about how fast tasks are done. It is also about how clearly movement is visible to others. A person can work with great effort in silence, but if nothing is shared until the deadline, the work may look slow from the outside.
A few tiny habits can change this image without adding many minutes:
- A short message near the start of a task saying what will be done and by when.
- A quick rough draft shared before the final version, so movement is visible.
- One focused question when blocked, instead of waiting in quiet confusion.
Research on workplace communication links this kind of frequent, light contact with higher trust and better results. Managers feel less in the dark. Workers do not have to guess for days if they are on the right track.
A gentle voice in another language
For many people, the hardest part of pace-related feedback is the fear of being seen as lazy or useless. On such days, a short inner sentence can help. Some choose a sentence in their own language. Others like to borrow one from another language, such as Dutch, as a kind of friendly code.
Here is a tiny Dutch mini-lesson built for that purpose.
First sentence:
Langzaam is niet nutteloos.
Word by word:
Langzaam = slow
is = is
niet = not
nutteloos = useless
The tone is calm and firm. It works well as quiet self-talk when a task takes longer than planned.
Second sentence:
Ik doe het liever langzaam en goed.
Word by word:
Ik = I
doe = do
het = it
liever = rather
langzaam = slowly
en = and
goed = well
This sentence is informal and warm. It says that careful work is a choice, not a mistake.
Third phrase:
drie rode dingen
Word by word:
drie = three
rode = red
dingen = things
This phrase can serve as a small personal label for the two or three key tasks of the day. A person might write “drie rode dingen” at the top of a page and list the main priorities under it. The words are short, memorable, and give a touch of lightness to serious work.
Pace with care, not panic
When these elements come together, the original message from the manager changes shape. It stops being a call to run without rest. It becomes a shared question: how can good work arrive in a rhythm that fits the needs of the job while still protecting the person doing it? With small daily habits, a kinder inner voice, and honest expectations, feedback about speed can slowly turn into a guide for steadier, more trusted work.
Conclusions
Seeing speed as a shared project
Feedback about pace does not have to define a person. It points to one part of the working day that can be adjusted with clear priorities, small signals of progress, and simple questions when help is needed. The skills that make the work “good” remain in place.
A slower path to feeling faster
When a person gives themselves room to feel the sting, then builds gentle habits around communication and focus, the work day starts to feel less like a race and more like a rhythm. Speed grows not through panic, but through clarity, kindness, and steady practice.
Selected References
[1] Cameron Conaway, “The Right Way to Process Feedback,” Harvard Business Review, June 2022. Available at: https://hbr.org/2022/06/the-right-way-to-process-feedback
[2] “How to Receive Feedback: 6 Tips,” Radical Candor, August 2024. Available at: https://www.radicalcandor.com/blog/how-to-receive-feedback
[3] Daniel Goller and Maximilian Späth, “‘Good job!’ The impact of positive and negative feedback on performance,” Sports Economics Review, 2024. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2773161824000223
[4] “How To Better Accept Feedback,” Harvard Business Review, YouTube video. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDMXKLXqZ1E
Appendix
Dutch mini-lesson
A short set of Dutch sentences and one phrase that support kinder self-talk about work pace, built around ideas like “slow is not useless,” “rather slow and good,” and “three red things,” with each word explained in simple English.
Feedback
Information about a person’s work or behaviour, often given by a manager or colleague, that highlights what is going well and what could change so that future work fits better with what is needed.
Pace of work
The speed and rhythm with which tasks are started, carried out, and finished, including both the actual time used and how clearly progress is shared with others.
Three red things
A very small personal system for choosing two or three key tasks that define a successful day, treating these tasks as the main focus and seeing any other completed work as an extra gain.
My Diary - Leonardo Cardillo 