Feedback is critical to the development
of people in every profession, yet so often it can be hard to give out, hard to
accept, or even avoided because of the previous two reasons. A generic “good
job” can smooth over any hurt feelings and try to convince everyone they are
doing fine – but that isn’t always fine. It leaves people in a rut, satisfied
with their performance when, in reality, it was probably at best mediocre and
could easily be improved. That is why effective feedback is so important, to
help people reach their fullest potential instead of letting them sit comfortably
in mediocrity.
In Try Feedforward Instead
of Feedback, (link here) the author Marshall Goldsmith emphasizes the importance of
making suggestions for improvement in the future. It takes what the person has
already done and without even needing to affirm it, shows them how to be right
(or even more thoroughly right) in the future. He says that people tend to take
this approach much less personally because it does not involve showing them or “proving”
to them that they were wrong, and is therefore not viewed as an attack but as genuine
advice.
In The Trouble with
”Amazing”: Giving Praise That Matters, (link here) author Jennifer Gonzalez writes
about how generic praise is absolutely useless. Sometimes it makes people feel
better about themselves, but if they know that was not truly an “amazing”
performance or they are looking for true critiques, it is a waste of time.
People crave “actionable” feedback, which gives them somewhere to go, concrete
improvements to make, and a purpose instead of just empty affirmations.
In the Army, we are trained to a certain degree on how to correct peers and subordinates, but also we have to figure a lot out for ourselves. Some are rough and never give out compliments, so the rare declaration that someone is “not sucking” carries a lot more weight. This is why drill sergeants are so effective (beyond having the ability to physically punish you when necessary): they constantly deliver critiques with specific action points for improvement, and if they say "good work" you know you must have truly done an outstanding job. Others constantly pour out affirmations, so you know to go to them if your feelings are hurt but not if you need actual critiques. I personally tend to give out affirmations where they are due, reassurances as they are needed (and they so often are,) but I can always work constructive criticism into the affirmations in the form of “next time it will be even better if you…” The authors of the articles I read have fairly similar views to this approach, which has proven over decades to be effective.
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| Drill Sergeant "Giving Feedback". (link) |
