After I had spent over a year working at a Japanese bank in Tokyo, I felt like something was wrong but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. I knew I was doing a good job, and my work was going smoothly, but something was missing. Then, one day on his way out of the office for the day, the general manager of my department passed behind my desk. Without stopping, he blurted out "I'd like to tell you that you're doing a good job, but I'm afraid it would just go to your head and you'd stop trying so hard."
As he waltzed out, I sat there in shock, because I now knew what hadn't felt right to me — I hadn't been getting any verbal feedback, and now I understood why.