Feedback Strategies

Last week, when talking about feedback I mostly stated that truth is the most important aspect when you are seeking to provide criticism to help others. However, I am also a firm believer that praise is an important part of feedback. Where criticism shows a person where they can improve, praise allows them to see where they are shining and provide a boost of confidence if needed. The issue, when providing feedback, is deciding how to balance out the two.

A common misconception about us millennials is that we are too expecting of praise. Older generations, and even some fellow people of our generation, believe that this expectancy is making us soft and our resulting work even worse. That is why it is important to only praise when it is deserved. In Maria Popova's article, Presence Not Praise: How to Cultivate a Health Relationship with Achievement, she quotes the mother of a Nobel prize-winner, who believes that praise is earned, and that unearned praised is irrelevant and does nothing for either party.

Marshall Goldsmith is also a firm believer of positive feedback. In his article, Try Feedforward Instead of Feedback, I especially loved that he emphasized that productivity can be improved with telling a person what they did right as opposed to proving to them what they did wrong. In my last article, I pointed out that honesty is very important when providing feedback, but only to a certain extent. There is a fine line between critiquing and chastising.

In the end, I stand by my previous belief that polite, but firm critique is necessary to develop good feedback, but after reading these articles, I now know that a reassuring gesture will go a long way just as well.

 

(A compliment goes a long way:

Me.me)