Feedback Strategies

Thoughts on : 5 Reasons to Stop Saying Good Job (link here) and How to Provide Great Feedback When You’re Not In Charge (link here) 

(The Importance of Feedback: by Feedback Padlet)

These two articles were highly informative on how to give good feedback to both children and adults. For children I was unaware about the dangers of a "good job." I am still unsure how I feel about the article. I did like how the goal of feedback for kids should be to encourage their growth and push them to be more independent. It also explained different alternatives that spark a intellectual conversation with the feedback. Overdoing "good job" can definitely create a habit in kids and encourage that they should only get to a certain point and then they need approval. With that said, if it is not overused it is a great way to encourage kids to keep going. 

 

I have always struggled giving feedback to my superiors because I am cautious that I could offend them. The article How to Provide Great Feedback When You’re Not In Charge (link here) addressed this with three feedback types/strategies: application, advice, and evaluation. The appreciation type reminded me of how beneficial feedback that has a positive tone is. By using gratitude, you are providing feedback. On part that really stick out to me was how to give advise. An example would be saying something like this: this worked pretty well for xyz, what do you think about trying abc next time to improve the results even more. It seems beneficial and more encouraging. Evaluation is not a great tool for feedback, but taking the fall first is. By putting yourself in the hot seat and create the atmosphere for coaching and improvement. 

Feedback Thoughts

A 5- Second Habit to Rewire Your Harshly Self Critical Brain: text here

This reading concerns the practice of REBS, reality-based short-congratulations. By using REBS the author believes that it reduces self criticism by distracting your brain from perfectionism or comparison. As you use REBS more and more, stress caused from setbacks will impact you less and less. I really enjoyed reading this article. I definitely struggle with perfectionism and it has become such a habit I do not even notice it anymore. It is not until my friends or family tell me how stressed I have been or how much I have been working on one project that I even become aware. Perfectionism leads to being self critical. I loved how this reading contained examples of self criticism and how to utilize REBS for each example. It is so important to become self-aware of doubt, stress, and self-criticism and then nip it in the butt with REBS.

Seven Ways to Crush Self-Doubt in Creative Work: text here

Self-doubt can be crippling. This reading discusses the seven ways to remove self-doubt from your life and become the most efficient and happy version of yourself. I have a love two art forms: painting and dancing. While I do love both, they both bring me a lot of self-doubt and can put me in a funk for days if I do not believe I did well enough. Painting is more so a private hobby of mine, but dancing....not so much. I dance in dance classes with several other great dancers, I tryout for teams made up of several talented dancers, and I put myself in situations that create self-doubt. This reading makes it a point to not just ignore self-doubt, but to grow from it. Not comparing yourself to others, losing perfectionism, allowing yourself to vulnerable, adopting the growth mindset, setting realistic goals, experiment, and trust yourself. These are all steps to replace doubt and fear with growth.

(More Important Than Grades: picture by Padlet: Feedback for Growth)