Week 3: Feedback Strategies

(Collaborative feedback, Photo by Charles Deluvio on Unsplash)

The first article that I read for this week was "Five Reasons to Stop Saying 'Good Job!'" by Alfie Kohn.  I had never heard an argument like the one this article made before, and I thought the take was interesting.  Kohn made many good points about how we use praise for manipulation in young children.  I appreciated that he offered alternatives to the phrase "Good Job," because I do think it is still important to praise the good things that children do.  Otherwise, as they explore the world, they won't know which behaviors are good and which are bad.  I think "Good Job" could still be used sparingly as a signal that kids are on the right track.

The second article that I read this week was "Why Do So Many Managers Avoid Giving Praise?" by Jack Zenger and Joseph Folkman.  I thought it was interesting that the two readings overlap on their point of giving specific feedback and praise instead of a vague, general "Good Job."  Overall, I was surprised by the findings of this study, that managers typically use negative feedback more often (despite not always enjoying it), while simultaneously their subordinates prefer positive feedback in the workplace.  I supposed maybe it is easy to forget in a workplace or classroom that the people you interact with are people, with feelings and a desire for approval like anyone else.

I think I've had a lot of experience with giving people feedback in recent semesters through creative writing workshops.  As a result, I think I feel much more comfortable with giving both negative and positive feedback, although I still find critiques difficult because I don't like confrontations or making someone feel bad about their work, so I err on the side of positivity typically.  One of the most useful strategies that I've heard is the "critique sandwich," where the negative feedback is put between points of praise, encouragement, and positivity (so that it is: positive-->critique-->positive).  I've found that's a good way to "break the news gently," so to speak!