Feedback Strategies

Well, We Are Working On Becoming Better Writers

In a post by Gravity Goldberg titled, "Be a Mirror: Give Readers Feedback That Fosters A Growth Mindset," she talks of very useful strategies on providing feedback. I honestly wish my previous teachers had used this approach as I was learning to become a better, stronger writer. I have always felt that my writing was never good, no matter how many hours I spent writing, revising, and proofreading, and having others revise, I was never able to include everything that the teachers' wanted. I really liked how she was emphasizing the idea of learning the habits and writing styles of students and building on what is there. Showing how writers can improve with what they have instead of trying to get them to do something that is not there, which I completely agree with. She does say you can't change what you can't see in a mirror, power to people who think like that, my papers would probably have had much better grades if my teachers thought that way. Overall, I loved this article and I definitely will be taking from her to provide feedback on what is there and focus more on what the writer has done.

My other article I read was an article by Jack Zenger and Joseph Folkman titled, "Why Do So Many Managers Avoid Giving Praise?" In this article they discussed about how managers felt when they needed to provide feedback to others in their team. They found that colleagues value and put a great deal of emphasis on receiving positive feedback. So much so that it might effect the relationship with one another more than negative feedback does. Additionally, they found that giving back only negative feedback decreased the leader's effectiveness in the eyes of others. A couple of pieces that stood out to me that I will definitely be applying to when I give feedback are: "Some employees have described this as, “Quick to criticize and slow to praise.” Giving positive feedback is really quite simple. It’s OK if it’s brief – it just needs to be specific, rather than a general remark of “good job,” and ideally occurs soon after the praise-worthy incident. Our findings suggest that if you want to be seen as a good feedback-giver, you should proactively develop the skill of giving praise as well as criticism." Overall, this article was a great read as far as describing that there needs to be a balance between negative feedback and praise and that not everything is viewed from one perspective.

Feedback Thoughts

In "Why rejection hurts so much — and what to do about it," Guy Winch does a phenomenal job on explaining ways that can help prevent people from hurting their psychology. I have personally seen how detrimental rejection can be, and I know that I never what to go through what some of my friends have had to go through. The causes varied, but when you think of the end result, all of them were the same. Sometimes the confidence a person has in themselves is lost and they are afraid to try something new in the future. I hope that we all understand the difference between hurting someone emotionally and providing someone constructive feedback. Growing up I have had numerous teachers who would take two or three class periods to make sure we knew and understood that there was a difference between constructive feedback and feedback that does nothing, but hurt a person. Winch makes a great point on the fact that even though we may face a rejection whether it be minor or major, we should not go and do something to make that feeling worse, but human nature says otherwise. Rejection from people can hurt, but we I have found that if I think of the better things I have in life that rejection seems minute in comparison. Growing up cliques existed everywhere, which let me tell you was the most annoying thing ever, but instead of feeling like I was being left out, I choose to look at the friends I already had. Like, Winch had said we should focus on what we have and think about those who we make happy, and that is exactly what my 8 year old self had learned of from her parents. I have to say though had that not have been the case I know that I would never have been as close to my group of elementary school friends. 

In "A fixed mindset could be holding you back — here's how to change it," by Anna Kelsey-Sugg and Ann Arnold. In this article, the authors talk about how the words of contant praise are actually causing children to develop a fixed mindset. These children who develop the fixed mindset aren't as open to feedback and believe that their amount of intelligence and abilities will not be able to change. Comparatively, people with the growth mindset will understand that knowledge and abilities can be improved upon and will be able to bounce back from a possible negative feedback. They then talk about the individuals who have a growth mindset advance and adapt to changes in their worklife better than those with a fixed mindset. The example about the doctors is what stood out the most to me, because it is true, that we are not perfect. We will make mistakes, but what matters is that we learn from those mistakes. The article was short, but conveyed some very powerful messages. When I think of fixed mindset and growth mindset, I think in terms of people who will lead the way to new discoveries and opportunities compared to the followers. With the pace that the world is moving at being able to adapt and learn from mistakes is crucial to move forward otherwise you will be left behind. You may have read this article and might even think that there isn't a big correlation between a fixed mindset and being held back, but there is. Why do we hesitate to make career moves sometimes or change degree tracks? Sometimes it is because we are so wired to one thing that we do not want to expose ourselves to the possibility of failure by making such a transition. 

I look forward to getting many comments. Happy Saturday y'all!

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