The problem with criticism is that it challenges our sense of value. Criticism implies judgment and we all recoil from feeling judged. As Daniel Goleman has noted , threats to our esteem in the eyes of others are so potent they can literally feel like threats to our very survival. The conundrum is that feedback is necessary. The first mistake we often make is giving feedback when we are feeling that our own value is at risk.
In fact, psychology research shows that it takes five positive events to make up for just one negative event in our brains. Even further, we tend to get so hyper-focused on that one perceived flaw no matter how miniscule it might be! A separate study showed that constructive criticism actually dulled the lessons that employees took away from their performance appraisals.
It was as if they heard that one piece of harsh feedback and totally shut down. You get it—receiving this type of criticism is challenging because it pokes holes in our ego. But, what about offering it? Why is that part so difficult? You could tarnish your own reputation by being perceived as bossy or condescending. Or, you could potentially damage your relationship with that person. Take your soft skills to the next level with our comprehensive and free ebook!
How do you do that? Neglecting to do so immediately makes your feedback seem mean-spirited. Before you jump right in with your own ideas for how someone could improve, ask yourself: Am I the right person to be providing feedback on this situation?
The last thing you want is for your constructive criticism to seem like a personal attack. So, be as specific as possible. When you can, provide examples to add extra clarity to your feedback. Make sure you emphasize that. Will their improvement in this area speed things up for your whole team? Eliminate errors?
Streamline communication? Focus on only one piece of feedback so that the recipient has a chance to process, respond, and ask questions. Body language is another key part of delivering constructive criticism effectively.
Perhaps one of the most common forms of feedback is a manager needing to offer a piece of constructive criticism to a direct report. This can happen in passing, or as part of a formal performance review. You can even take a more supportive position by offering to help them correct their behavior. The scenario: Your employee has a history of missing important deadlines. You need to remind them that they need to be on time with their deliverables, otherwise everything else gets thrown off track.
I know that things get busy, but I need to see you improve with your on-time delivery, because not getting that information by the deadline really throws the rest of the team off track.
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To walk this fine line, take a friendly, more team-centered approach. The scenario: One of your co-workers continues to interrupt you in team meetings. Every time you begin to chime in, they immediately cut you off with their own ideas. Can you just let me speak before you jump right in with your own two cents? Here we are—at the most anxiety-inducing scenario of them all.
Additionally, praising your employees often and when merited can increase employee morale and motivation. Tip: Consider focusing on two exceptional actions for every one critique you deliver when implementing constructive criticism. However, I felt like it could have been more effective had there been more emotion in it. You spoke very well and steady, especially through your introduction and closing, though with more emotion and tone the audience would have been more engaged.
When implementing constructive criticism, it is important to offer feedback that your employees can put into action immediately to achieve new objectives and improve their performance, productivity, skills or other areas. Consider discussing strategies that both you and the employee can use to work toward improvement.
For instance, if employee productivity is low, you could create a daily checklist or spreadsheet to outline urgent tasks, important tasks and nice-to-have tasks. Then, employees can be held accountable for moving through their task lists and making sure expectations are met by initialing, writing checkmarks and having managers monitor the improvement.
Likewise, you may consider setting incentives for meeting quotas or exceeding standards. Tip: Focus on one improvement area at a time and work with employees to put development plans into action. How would you feel if we typed out an improvement plan detailing your mandatory and extra tasks? That way we can monitor how you are moving through your daily tasks. If it is a question of time management, then the outline can allow us to identify that and make a separate plan for that.
Find jobs. Otherwise you may come across as very aggressive and rude if you just jump right into the critique. This is especially true in the Asian culture.
People are often quick to criticize, judge, or even shame , and it downplays what others are doing well and the effort they have put into their work. Image: Pink Sherbet. Image: Joe Duty. I receive a lot of feedback in running PE. The more specific someone is when giving the feedback, the more actionable it is for me.
Here is an example of a vague vs. With the second feedback, it is more actionable because it is so specific. There is no confusion.
Say your friend is in a singing competition and she has entered the finals. She asks you to critique her performance. Here, actionable critique would be talking about her overall performance, her pitch, her body language, and perhaps even her song choice.
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