Welcome to Edition #92 of Gorick's newsletter, where Harvard career advisor and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Gorick Ng shares what they don't teach you in school about how to succeed in your career.
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→ Read time: 7 min
STORY
What Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s polls (don’t) say about his performance
Canadian Prime Minister and Liberal Party leader Justin Trudeau came to power nearly a decade ago—and has seen his approval ratings wax and wane.
In December 2015, in the 2nd month of Trudeau’s first term, the Liberal Party’s approval rates stood at 64%—a historic high.
9 years later, in December 2024, the Liberal Party’s approval rates plummeted to just 16%—the party’s lowest approval rating in the modern era.
1 week later, it jumped 4%, from 16% to 20%.
“Anything’s possible now,” headlines read.
1 month later, it jumped again—this time 11%, from 20% to 31%.
“Some Liberal supporters [are] daring to dream that they might pull off one of the greatest comebacks in Canadian political history,” The Economist wrote.
Consider these 5 weeks and 3 different approval ratings. One day, Trudeau and the Liberal Party are the worst. The next day, they’re the best.
What’s going on—and what does this mean for your career?
If this were school and approval ratings were Trudeau’s GPA, you’d think Trudeau had been slacking off all semester—and then studied extra hard for his final exam.
But no: Trudeau’s own actions only tell part of the story.
Yes, he’s facing a cost-of-living crisis and numerous scandals, not to mention infighting within his party.
But what about the sudden jump from 16% to 20% to 31%?
It’s got nothing to do with what Trudeau did or didn’t do—and everything to do with a certain someone named Donald Trump.
On February 1st, Trump signed an executive order imposing 25% tariffs on Canadian imports. In response, Canadians exploded in “fury”—and renewed their love for the Liberal Party.
Political scientists even have a name for this phenomenon: the “rally ‘round the flag effect”, or when citizens of a country “put aside political differences” to support their country’s leaders in times of war or during “international crises.”
So no, Trudeau didn’t do anything differently. It’s just that the tide turned—and he stood to benefit.
Why am I sharing this story now? Because it shows how subjective job performance evaluations can be—and how important it is to not let others’ perspectives impact your self-worth.
Take the example of Meta (formerly Facebook). Last month, CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that the company would be laying off 3,600 people, or 5% of Meta’s workforce. His goal? To “move out low-performers faster.”
Fast forward to last week and the layoffs began—only for employees who had received “At or Above Expectations” ratings in their 2024 mid-year reviews to be cut also.
Why?
According to leaked internal documentation, managers were asked to lay off “employees from higher performance tiers if they couldn't meet their reduction targets from lower-rated employees.”
In other words, not all employees laid off were low performers. They were part of a broader quota. The tide turned on them, too.
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UNSPOKEN RULE
Feedback is in the eye of the beholder.
Is Trudeau really running Canada into the ground?
I’m not here to talk politics, so I’ll leave it to you to decide. But that’s exactly my point: It’s up to you. And, as his fluctuating approval ratings in the face of Trump’s own fluctuating policy moves show, perceptions of his performance are not entirely up to him.
Similarly, Meta’s high-performing employees who were fired didn’t necessarily have below-average performance. In fact, several shared with Business Insider that they had “no indicators” of performance problems at all.
And yet they were fired when external circumstances changed.
Here’s the reality of feedback: it’s subjective.
Don’t get me wrong: I’m not saying that you shouldn’t take feedback seriously. What I am saying is that you need to understand the circumstances surrounding someone’s feedback. (Want more on this topic? Click here to read my story on how feedback impacted Michael Jordan’s career.)
How to put your feedback in context
Example 1
Say you’re looking for a job—and you were rejected. Is it because you sucked?
Maybe.
More likely, though, you were rejected for one of the following reasons:
- A decision-maker knew another candidate better
- Another candidate had more relevant experience
- The company changed its mind and decided not to hire anyone (or even freeze hiring)
Most companies will never tell you why they rejected you. They’ll simply tell you that you weren’t selected. In the face of this ambiguity, it’s easy for your mind to wander in unproductive directions—and for your self-worth to take a hit. Don’t let it wander. Keep trying.
After all, the feedback and ambiguity don’t end once you’ve gotten hired.
Example 2
Imagine your manager telling you that you’ve been underperforming. Were you really underperforming?
Maybe.
Or was it a reflection of one of the following reasons:
- You didn’t conform to your manager’s particular working style
- Your manager played favorites—and picked someone else over you
- You actually did a great job—only for the tide to turn (like for many Meta employees)
What to do when you get negative feedback
First, pause—and ask yourself, “Did my manager share a fact or a feeling?”
Facts are statements that are true no matter where you go. If your work had formatting errors or typos, it’s not just your manager who’d notice. Others are likely to see it, too.
Feelings, on the other hand, are in the eye of the beholder. Would your idea really not work? Or, does your idea simply not match your manager’s worldview?
And so we arrive upon a framework that I share in my online course, Fast Lane to Leadership, which helps you master the soft skills that turn unproven professionals into fast-rising stars:
In the face of critical feedback, you have 3 options: You can…
1. Reject the feedback
2. Ignore the feedback
3. Embrace the feedback
Here’s the unspoken rule: there is a right answer—and it’s #3, embrace the feedback.
Reject the feedback, and you risk being seen as defensive—or incompatible.
Ignore the feedback, and you risk being seen as ignorant or careless—or incompetent or noncommitted.
Embrace the feedback (or at least show your willingness to try the feedback, even if you disagree) and you’ll be seen as compatible, competent, and committed.
How you respond to critical feedback could mean the difference between your manager thinking, “I want to invest in you and keep working with you” and “You’re hopeless and clueless.”
Your manager has already made up their mind—and, chances are, you won’t be able to convince them otherwise. What can you do? Show that you’re coachable.
I’m not saying to follow your manager’s every word, though! Sometimes their feedback really doesn’t make any sense. In situations like this, try their feedback (if even for a split second).
Then, approach them and say:
- “After our last conversation, I tried to ______ for ______. However, I noticed that ___[barrier]___ came up. Do you have any suggestions for how to work through this issue?”
… and see what they say.
But—and I know this is easier said than done—don’t take it personally. After all, it’s merely one person’s perspective.
See you on Thursday for our AMA of the week!
Gorick
What’s an “unspoken rule”? They’re the things that separate those who get ahead from those who stumble—and don’t know why. You can learn more about these rules in the workplace in my Wall Street Journal bestselling book called—you guessed it—The Unspoken Rules.
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Sources:
- came to power nearly a decade ago
- approval rates stood at 64%
- approval rating in the modern era
- How Canadians Fell Out of Love With Justin Trudeau
- an Ipsos poll revealed
- “Anything’s possible now,” headlines read.
- The Economist wrote.
- he’s facing a cost-of-living crisis and numerous scandals
- imposing 25% tariffs on Canadian imports
- Canadians exploded in “fury”
- “put aside political differences”
- laying off 3,600 people, or 5% of Meta’s workforce
- “move out low-performers faster.”
- leaked internal documentation
- “no indicators”
