Feedback Strategies

General Notes

I was happy to learn more about how to give feedback as I am a leader of Concrete Canoe and I am always looking for ways to offer feedback without upsetting the members. If I come across as rude, we will surely lose members we really need. Hopefully after reading these two articles I will be able to offer constructive criticism without seeming condescending.

Another place I have struggled to give feedback is at work. As an engineering intern, I made up my own ways to accomplish tasks and sometimes found quicker ways to a solution. However, I was always worried to offer feedback as I didn't want to upset my bosses but I did want to help improve processes. Sometimes I would just casually bring it up, sometimes I'd show my coworker while asking a question, and sometimes I would ask my coworker whether they thought my way was a good way to come to a solution so that they could make a decision on their own. It was interesting to read about good strategies for offering feedback to see what I did and did not do.

"How to Provide Great Feedback When You're Not In Charge"

Source: Farnam Street

This article gave four pieces of advice to give feedback. The first piece of advice was to show appreciation for when things are done right. To establish the necessary respect to offer the feedback you need to first learn to offer feedback even for good things. The second piece of advice was to offer constructive feedback on ideas, not on the person. By doing this, you're more likely to get the person to listen to your feedback. The final two pieces of advice are to not offer feedback too often and to take feedback yourself.

"How to Give Bad Feedback Without Being a Jerk"

Source: Next Big Idea Club

The biggest piece of advice in this article is to explain why you're offering feedback. Psychologists found that feedback recipients were 40% more likely to accept feedback when the reasoning for feedback is offered. The next piece of advice was to show that you aren't offering feedback because you think too highly of yourself, but because you genuinely want to help. Ways to accomplish this are to make sure you let the feedback recipient know that you accept feedback, ask if they are willing to receive feedback, and have a conversation instead of a lecture.

This image from Pixabay shows that feedback should be
a conversation, not a lecture.

Feedback Thoughts

"Seven Ways to Crush Your Self Doubt" by John Spencer

Article Source

To summarize the points illustrated by this article, the seven ways to eliminate self-doubt are: you don't have to be perfect, maintain a growth mindset, and don't compare yourself to others. The article raises some very good points. I agree that one shouldn't compare themselves to someone. Everyone has a different set of skills and circumstances in life, and there are too many variables in life to be the same as another person. I also agreed with the growth mindset advice. Viewing "failures" as learning experiences and actually learning from these experiences would help you learn to quit doubting yourself. However, I didn't agree with some of the points made by the article. I think all people should strive to be perfect, and, related, set very lofty goals. While this can cause you to doubt yourself, if you combine perfectionism with the growth mindset you will grow very rapidly. You have to train your brain to not doubt yourself despite not being perfect yet strive to be perfect. However, I understand that when doing more creative projects one should not strive for perfection as there is no true perfection when being creative/artistic.

"Why It's So Hard to Hear Negative Feedback" by Tim Herrera

Article from the New York Times

The article was written using information from a TED talk named "WorkLife With Adam Grant". The article basically states that people sometimes receive negative feedback poorly because they take negative feedback as a reflection on themselves instead of as a reflection on their work. However, the article suggests that if you can learn to view the negative feedback as advice and teach yourself that you're judged for the improvement attempt as well as the mistake. Training your brain to read the situation this way causes you to try harder to improve.

My Thoughts

As a student, I've used feedback to grow. Even bad grades are a form of feedback, though they may be a little harsh. However, I managed to not succumb to self-doubt and was able to grow through these experiences. The most productive feedback I have ever gotten has been poor quiz grades. Quiz grades don't greatly impact your overall grades. After failing a quiz, I know what I need to improve upon. However, I have also had useless feedback - mainly in English classes here at OU. In English classes, it seems that you lose points but are not told why. Therefore, you cannot attempt to improve yourself because you have no useful feedback.

I chose this image because I like the quote. Those who are scared to fail and learn
can't grow. Image from Professor Gibbs's "Padlet" page on Canvas