Feedback Strategies

Ice Cream Sandwich by Eric Petruno

Looking back, when I try to give someone feedback you could say that it would generally come out in the form of praise. I'd try to put the constructive criticism in the middle much like a constructive sandwich. The reason for this approach is because I don't want to demoralize anyone for their efforts because I really think that giving up is one of the worst things someone can do. Especially if its on the behalf of one comment. However, sometimes the constructive comment can get lost in between the praise. The person may think that they're on the right direction and nothing is gained from that conversation. I tend to be more sincere with people I know well, because they would understand that I'm trying to help. 

After being introduced to the Fixed and Growth Mindset as well as reading an article by MindShift - The Difference Between Praise and Feedback it has helped me become more aware about how unnecessary praise can have negative consequences in the future, particularly when dealing with young children.

 This article has interested me in particular because I sometimes mind a friend's child. He's five years old, and it's the first time I looked after someone so young. Naturally, I don't want to screw up and be a bad influence on the kid. He started school this year and just recently got his first homework. Might I add, he  passionately expressed his displeasure for tracing letters. I just looked at him surprised, thinking Man...how lucky you are that that is all you have to do. I also remembered that around this age, it can be easy for a child to get either get motivated or discouraged. That is why encouraging effort not results is the way to go.

Another article that I found interesting was Try Feedforward Instead of Feedback by Marshall Goldsmith. Marshal talks about how feedback can be a limiting tool as it tends to focus on the past, emphasizes mistakes and can more often than not be demoralizing. So he proposes, feedforward where the people on the receiving end choose one thing they want to change in their approach to anything. The person providing the feedforward would give a few suggestions without referencing the past. This is a strategy that I've rarely seen used in my experience and would like to experiment with in the future.