I enjoyed learning how to provide constructive feedback. For
years, I have tried to sandwich any criticism I make between two things that
are complementary to the person I am critiquing; however, properly doing
constructive feedback takes this even further.
The authors of our book write, “offer constructive feedback
that uses descriptive statements without judgment, labeling, or attribution of
motives." They go on to provide guidelines for providing effective group
feedback, which include, in their words:
- Talk first about yourself, not the other person
- Phase the issue as a statement, not a question
- Restrict your feedback to things you know for certain
- Provide positive feedback as well as negative
- Understand the context
- Don’t use labels
- Be careful not to exaggerate
- Do not be judgmental
All of these guidelines make sense to me. I like the concept
of constructive feedback because it will help me when I am providing constructive
feedback to my kids, my husband, my coworkers, even my boss. If I do it
correctly by adhering to the guidelines, there’s much less of chance of
offending the person to whom I am giving feedback. And there’s more chance that
the person will take some of what I have to say to heart and possibly work
on whatever behavior I am critiquing. In addition, when someone is critiquing
my behavior, I will recognize that if they use these guidelines, they are
trying very hard to give me truly constructive criticism, and I’m more likely to
listen.
Hi Lee,
ReplyDeleteKnowing how to properly provide constructive feedback is a good takeaway in my opinion. I too used to find it difficult to try and give any sort of criticism without feeling as if I am being negative or offensive. The key points you stated, such as talking about yourself first and providing both positive and negative feedback, are good to remember in terms of providing feedback properly. Currently, the only role I have is that of a student so it is interesting to hear the different ways you can apply this lesson, such as with your children, spouse, boss and coworkers.
Hi Lee, I enjoyed reading your post on your favorite concept. Providing constructive feedback can be quite difficult, especially when you try your best not to make it sound like negative criticism. I often have a problem with this which is why I need to improve my techniques on giving positive constructive feedback. I'm glad you gave me an overview on constructive feedback because I honestly forgot that there were many guidelines in order to achieve this concept successfully. I'm glad that you are able to apply this concept to both your personal and professional life. I noticed that you go by the guidelines when you are providing constructive feedback. I thought that was a very great quality that you have within yourself because you have genuine care about the people you give feedback to. That's something that others around you will notice and truly appreciate. I'm really glad you picked this concept, and I hope that I will be able to use your method of going back to this guideline and be able to provide this kind of feedback more effectively and more often as you do.
ReplyDeleteHey Lee!
ReplyDeleteYour discussion was very interesting to read. I'm glad the professor assigned this discussion topic because I forgot about the guidelines to provide feedback. You included everything that we should remember about constructive feedback. This weeks discussions are a great way to slowly remember the topics that we must study for the final. Not only did you write about the concept for constructive feedback, you included personal examples that make it more interesting to read. At the end of your post, you included a very important point: if someone is critiquing you, you will pay attention to see if they are going by the guidelines because giving effective feedback is necessary. I definitely agree!