“You’re Doing Great” Is Not Feedback

“You’re doing great.”

It sounds supportive.
Encouraging, even.

But in a lot of workplaces, it’s the most useless sentence you can hear.

Because it usually appears when nothing is going to change.

Praise Without Progress

You hear it in one-to-ones.
You hear it in performance reviews.
You hear it right before a conversation ends.

“You’re doing great. Keep it up.”

No specifics.
No direction.
No next step.

Just enough validation to stop you asking harder questions.

The Comfort of Vagueness

Real feedback requires effort.

It means thinking about your work.
Documenting impact.
Taking responsibility for development.

So instead, you get praise that can’t be acted on.

If you’re “doing great,” what does that mean for your role?
Your pay?
Your future?

Usually nothing.

Because “doing great” is not a plan — it’s a holding pattern.

When You Ask for More

Eventually, you try to turn the compliment into something tangible.

“What should I focus on to progress?”
“What would make me ready for the next level?”

And suddenly, the answers get fuzzy.

“Well, it’s a combination of things.”
“There’s no single path.”
“We’ll know it when we see it.”

Translation: there is no intention to move you.

If there were, they’d be able to explain it.

The Emotional Trade

This kind of praise creates a subtle trap.

You feel acknowledged, so you hesitate to push.
You don’t want to seem ungrateful.
You don’t want to be “that person” who’s never satisfied.

So you keep delivering.
Keep improving.
Keep waiting.

And the praise keeps coming — safely disconnected from any actual outcome.

The Comparison Game

Look around.

Who gets promoted?
Who gets opportunities?

It’s rarely the people quietly “doing great.”

It’s the people whose progress was planned, discussed, and backed by someone with influence.

Praise is cheap.
Advocacy is not.

The Moment It Breaks

At some point, the phrase stops feeling good.

“You’re doing great” starts to sound like “please don’t ask for anything.”

And once you notice that, every compliment without action feels like avoidance.

Not malicious.
Just comfortable.

What Real Feedback Looks Like

Real feedback is specific.
Measurable.
Sometimes uncomfortable.

It tells you what to improve and what it leads to.

It comes with follow-through.

Anything else is just noise.

The Reframe

If all you’re getting is praise, ask yourself why.

Is it because you’re genuinely on a clear path?
Or because vague positivity is easier than making decisions?

“You’re doing great” might sound nice.

But without change, it’s just another way to keep you exactly where you are.