The feedback is an ordinary aspect of academic and professional life. Feedback can be used to enhance the quality of work whether working on a dissertation, thesis, research project, report, internship assignment, or work at workplace. It is possible to determine the areas of weaknesses that you might not be aware of, proposing the more effective solution, and assist you in achieving the requirements of your project, which could not be proposed by you.

But when you have two supervisors who are giving opposing advice, feedback is far harder to deal with.

One supervisor might request you to make a section shorter, and the other might request you to make it longer. One can suggest to reform your research methodology, whereas the other is of the opinion that your current methodology is suitable. The former might like an abstract and theoretical discussion whereas the latter anticipates an analysis that is practical. In others, compliance could be to the command of one supervisor whilst be contrary to the suggestions of the other.

This may be perplexing and overwhelming especially when both managers are in control of your practice. You might be confused who you need to listen to, whether you should admit the dispute or not or whether doing so will cause an issue in future when adhering to one recommendation.

The positive side is that the conflicting feedback does not necessarily turn into a conflict between individuals. Existence of good communication, good paperwork and an effective choice making process can allow you to handle divergent positions professionally.

This guide highlights how to manage conflicting feedbacks of two supervisors without spoiling the working relationship with one of them.

Why Supervisors Give Conflicting Feedback

It is worth knowing the reasons as to why supervisors can disagree before making a decision regarding what to do.

The same work may be examined two times by supervisors and they may come to different conclusions. This does not also imply that any of them is bad. There can be two or more right ways to do academic and professional work.

Depending on their area of specialization, supervisors can possess varying areas of expertise. As an example, one of the supervisors can be more of a specialist in research methodology, and the other one will know more about the subject matter itself. This way, every individual can be interested in other areas of your work.

They may also have different preferences. One of the supervisors may want a detailed account and the other appreciate the writing selected in brief. One can favor traditional ways, whereas another is supportive of the new ones.

There are cases when Varity of interpretation of objectives of your project leads to the conflicting feedback. When your bosses have contrasting ideas about the objective of the project then they are bound to give characterized suggestions.

Timing is another typical cause. One supervisor can give feedback on the version of your work that he/she had reviewed sometime before, another reviews a different version. Provided there were drastic differences between the two versions, then the comments could be seen as conflicting when in reality, both were sensible at that point.

The first step to resolving the disagreement is to understand the cause of the disagreement.

1. Do Not React Immediately

The initial response when you have two absolutely opposite suggestions is frustration. You may reason, What one of those shall I obey? It is easy to understand, and acting now can only cause unwarranted difficulties.

Rather, take time and read these two sets of comments thoroughly. Supervisory feedback may be more complicated than it initially seems. Two statements that are not contradictory can refer to the different sides of the issue.

To illustrate, Supervisor A can request you to cut on the background conversation whereas Supervisor B explains that the section should be explained further. Supervisor A could be citing irrelevant historical information, whereas Supervisor B would prefer to see more detail of a particular theory. You can also omit some background details that are not important and increase the theoretical discussion. The following two recommendations can be taken.

Thus, before studying the context, it is always important not to presume that feedback is incompatible.

2. Identify the Exact Point of Conflict

The process to which the feedback clashes is what should be found out next. Do not generalize the situation and think it is, My dissertation Supervisors disagree about it. That is too general a statement that can assist you to tackle the problem.

Rather, separate the feedback into particular problems. E.g., one supervisor can advise to reduce the research question and the other one would like to retain its current scope. Qualitative interviews can be suggested to one of them, whereas the other suggests a mixed-method approach. The first person needs literature review to be summarized, whereas the second one would prefer to add more recent researches.

When the conflicts are unbundled, then they are easier to handle. You can also find out that your supervisors mutually agree on the majority of the project and do not agree on only two or three critical decisions.

3. Separate Major Issues From Minor Preferences

All feedback is not equal. Other remarks are of general scholarly or work-related needs. Those others are predominately a matter of taste.

Key areas of concern can be the research objectives, research questions, methodology, data collection, ethical requirements, theoretical framework, analysis methods and institutional requirements, project scope and assessment criteria.

Minor concerns can be preference regarding wording, paragraph length, the style of their headings, sentence structure, or the sequence some points.

In case two supervisors cannot come up to an agreement concerning a trivial stylistic matter, the impact is typically mild. In case they differ regarding your research methodology then you cannot be simply incautious making such a decision. The greater the matter, the greater it is to seek clarification prior to making significant alterations.

4. Check the Official Requirements

In case supervisors are not in agreement, the formal needs of your institution can work be used as a reference.

In academic work, see dissertation or thesis guidelines, departmental manuals, evaluation forms, requirements on research ethics, formatting guides, program policies and submission policies. In the case of workplace projects, it could be a project brief, client requirements, company policy, contract, style guide, or agreed scope of work.

You have been asked by one supervisor to structure your dissertation in six chapters, and by another five chapters. When a structure is supplied by your university, the official instructions ought to take precedence normally.

Formal specifications furnish level playing ground. Rather than making the statement that you would rather do things in the way Supervisor A does, you can elaborate that a certain way seems to be more values consistent with the requirements that have been documented. This renders the discussion less personal and evidence-based.

5. Look for the Reason Behind Each Comment

Do not concentrate on what each supervisor desires. Attempt to find out their reason of wanting it. How much the reasons behind the feedback are more important than the instruction itself.

Suppose that one of the supervisors instructs you to draw out an entire part of it and the other instructs you to widen it. Rather than deciding to delete or expand it, inquire of the individual supervisors what is it they are attempting to accomplish.

It might be that the first supervisor believes that the section has nothing to do with your research question. The second one might think that the idea talked there is a necessity but incompletely described. One of them might be to restructure the section to make it briefer, more succinct and related closely to the research question.

I have now answered the solicitation of both remarks, without mechanically obeying either of the prescriptions..

6. Create a Feedback Comparison Table

When you receive a large amount of feedback, keeping everything in your head is difficult. A simple feedback table can make the situation much clearer.

Organize the feedback by issue, Supervisor A’s recommendation, Supervisor B’s recommendation, and your proposed action. This prevents you from overlooking comments, helps you identify genuine conflicts, and encourages you to develop a solution rather than simply presenting the problem to your supervisors.

The table can also become a useful record of how you responded to feedback throughout the project.

7. Find Areas Where Both Suggestions Can Be Combined

The conflicting feedback does not necessarily mean it is necessary to select either one. In many cases, it is a good idea to integrate the most powerful aspects of both suggestions.

And, as an example, when your literature review is required to be shorter by Supervisor A but contains more recent research than more current research by Supervisor B, you can eliminate more old-fashioned or redundant materials and replace them with newer and more pertinent ones.

On the same note, when one supervisor desires a more theoretical discussion than the other desires more practical implications, you can design the discussion so that each major finding is initially explained in terms of its theoretical interpretation which is then linked with practical implications.

Rather than making the question, Who shall I obey, the supervisor, ask, What hath this supervisor to raise, and both may I raise?

8. Use Your Own Academic or Professional Judgment

The most common is thinking that you are expected to obey whatever you get instructed to do. The responsibility on the work is not taken away by supervision.

Your bosses are sources of experience and advice, and you ought to be able to form your argument yourself. Evaluate both suggestions using evidence.

Think about which option is in the best interests of the purpose of the project, which approach has literature backing, which one is more methodologically robust, which one best fits with the assessment criteria, what is practicable within time available, with available resources, and what would be the implications of each?

The choice should be on what gives the most viable and justifiable project.

9. Ask for Clarification Instead of Guessing

It is no use making guesses about what your supervisors want, as long as the dispute is about a significant decision. Ask for clarification.

The trick is to formulate the question in a professional manner. It should not be a contest on deciding who is right. Be neutral in explaining the problem and concentrate on the project.

E.g. I got two tips on the approach to the qualitative design, one would be to keep using the existing qualitative design, the other one would be to include a quantitative element into the research design, before making such significant change, I would like to have clarification on what approach would be able to best serve the purposes of the research.

This expression shows that you are contemplating on the impact of the feedback.

10. Suggest a Joint Meeting for Major Conflicts

There are conflicts that cannot be solved by means of individual discussions. Provided that the problem concerns a significant section of your project, a quick meeting with both chiefs could be the most effective resolution.

This can be very helpful especially where there are differences over research design, research methodology, research questions, theoretical framework, data analysis, significant structural changes or project scope.

By a collective discussion, both bosses can listen to each other out as they give their reasoning. It will make you an easy target to turn into a messenger who is taking comments across.

In soliciting the meeting, remember the concentration on alignment. State that you would like to verify the desired course of action prior to making major changes.

11. Bring a Proposed Solution to the Discussion

Never go to the meeting with a problem. Bring a possible solution.

Rather than telling them, You both provided me with different feedback. What should I do? tell the person what you have thought about and share how you think it should be handled.

As an illustration: I looked at the two recommendations. The solution that I would offer is to engage in the qualitative design but fortify the analysis with another coding framework. This would not change the approved approach but eliminate the issue of the level of analysis.

Supervisors are usually more comfortable answering a definite proposal compared to addressing a problem without a narrow scope.

12. Avoid Choosing Based on Seniority Alone

Where two supervisors are in controversy, there are instances where students will automatically go behind the senior person. That is sometimes suitable provided your institution has distinct roles, like a main supervisor who has the ultimate decision over some actions.

But all the academic decisions should not be necessarily made on seniority. A single supervisor might be more knowledgeable of the precise problem that is being discussed.

Think about role, expertise, institutional responsibility, and nature of the issue instead of just job title.

13. Document Important Decisions

A documentation would be highly beneficial to maintain a record of significant supervisory choices. At the end of a meeting, take notes of what was covered, the solution agreed upon, what modifications you are to make, who suggested the method to use and there are issues which are not clear in your mind, then note them down.

To follow up on key decisions, a brief follow up email might be used to verify your comprehension. To give an example: Thank you today we talked I understand that I will use the same methodology as I used, but I will change the sampling justification and include a brief limitations section as to why I could not use the alternative methodology.

Writing is primarily concerning avoidance of confusion. One can extend projects to months and even years and keeping a written record aids everybody in remembering what they agreed.

14. Keep Both Supervisors Informed

The other prevalent reason behind the conflicting feedback is the incomplete communication. When Supervisor A is unaware of the recommendations made by Supervisor B, he/she might go on to giving advice on the basis of an obsolete knowledge of the project.

Incorporate both supervisors in key changes where necessary. Send revised version to both, send both copies on critical project emails, distribute short meeting notes, have a feedback file that everyone gets access to, and clearly indicate what has changed since the last conference.

As soon as all of them operate on the same version and are aware of the key decisions that have already been made, they are less likely to get contradictory feedback.

15. Do Not Secretly Ignore Feedback

It is tempting at times to just follow one of the supervisors and not pay attention to the other when feedback is overwhelming. This is risky.

Unless a recommendation is implemented, it is not enough to ignore the reasons. You do not have to take all the suggestions, but you ought to be able to have your logic.

E.g.: I thought about including another case study, which would add a significantly greater amount of information to the overall scope of the research question, so I decided to enhance the comparison between the current ones.

This demonstrates that you did not ignore the feedback.

16. Avoid Turning the Situation Into a Personal Conflict

Language matters. Do not tell one supervisor, the other supervisor believes you are wrong in your suggestion. Although that may be an accurate characterization of the argument, it is not productive.

Be impartial with phrases like, there are two ways it can be done, I have been given another suggestion or Could we settle on the direction we want to go and I will rewrite this part.

Conflict among professionals is a given fact. It is not up to you to decide who has won the argument. Your job is to assist in coming up with a workable direction of your project.

17. Know When to Escalate the Issue

A majority of the conflicting feedbacks can be reduced by discussion. Sometimes, though, the difference is so pronounced that extra help is needed.

In the event the supervisors are unable to reach a basic decision, constantly issue conflicting directives, arrive at consensus, or in any event the dispute has become a real drag, or in an event where communication or breaking of communication has occurred, you may need to address one of the following applicants: program director, research coordinator, department head, project manager, or any other relevant authority.

Escalation should normally be a last resort. Consider the practical problem, what you have already done, and what you should do to proceed.

18. Develop a Clear Feedback Management System

Do not wait until you see the beginning of conflicts in case you work on the basis of two supervisors regularly. Create a system for managing feedback from the beginning.

Have a master file of your project and distinguish among them. Do not have numerous files with ambiguous names like final, final new, final corrected, and final latest.

You too can keep a feedback log that would include the date, section, comment, supervisor, step taken, and status done. This is especially useful when conducting a long research project in which hundreds of commentary can add up over time.

19. Learn to Recognize Feedback Patterns

The more time you collaborate with your supervisors, the more you will learn what each one of them concentrates on. One can always see the flaws in the arguments, the other one can be keen on the methodology, structure, or evidence.

Being aware of these patterns can then assist you by improving your drafts prior to submitting them. When it comes to a boss who will often require more justification, be sure you are on the right track before you submit the next chapter. In case another notes flimsy links between your results and the literature otherwise, make those links yourself.

In the long run, you can get less conflicting feedback as you start to address the expectations of both the supervisors in the writing process.

20. Remember That Disagreement Can Improve Your Work

The conflicting feedback is annoying yet it might be thought-provoking. When your work is made out differently by two people who are experienced, then that could expose an area that has to be made clearer.

When one of the supervisors interprets your research question in a certain way and the other interprets it in a different way, then the question itself might not be clear. In case somebody believes that a section is vital and the other person believes that this section is not relevant, you might have to clarify on the role of that section.

Competing feedback compels you to highly explain your decisions: why you chose a methodology, why a theory fits, why a section is within the project and why you analyzed the data in a specific manner.

A Simple Process You Can Follow

1. Have a read through of both comments. Do not make immediate changes.
2. Find the disagreement. Distinguish between actual conflicts and remarks which may coexist.
3. Find out the significance of the issue. Meaningful word choices might not need to be discussed, whereas methodology ones often do.
4. Check official requirements. Employ rules of use and evaluation criteria, project goals and accepted plans as reference points devoid of prejudice.
5. Find out the logic behind the two remarks. Inquire of each of the supervisors what issue they seek to resolve.
6. Look for a combined solution. Where feasible discuss the issues underlying the two recommendations.
7. Develop your own evidence-based position. Choose which method is most beneficial to the project and why.
8. seek clarification where needed. Do not be a big surger.
9. Schedule together a discussion on key disputes. This makes you not be the middleman between supervisors.
10. Document the decision made. Get the important agreements verified by providing up-date on your feedback list.

Final Thoughts

Dealing with the dual feedbacks between two supervisors is not a question of taking sides. It is concerning how to comprehend the logic of various suggestions and identify the method that is most suitable to your project.

Begin by determining the point of conflict between the feedback. See what is officially required, take into account the experience of each of the supervisors and determine what logic is behind their suggestions. Where possible, combine both suggestions. In the case of non-possibility of that, create a clear stand and seek clarification to avoid making significant changes.

Communication is often the quickest remedy to significant conflicts. Spending weeks of revisions due to contradictory instructions can be avoided with a brief joint meeting. After decision making; record and ensure supervisors are aware of it.

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