Feedback Thoughts

The first article I read was Megan Bruneau's "5 Tips for Taking Feedback." I've always been an overzealous perfectionist, so the main point that hit me from this article was Bruneau's point that room for improvement is actually a good thing—which fits really well with the Growth Mindset teachings we've been focusing on in this class. As Bruneau says, "having growth areas is a good thing— it means you haven't maxed out on your potential." I find that it's all well and good to say being a perfectionist is counterproductive and self-defeating, but that's one of those to file under the "easier said than done" column. If I think about it in terms of still having room to improve, though, it really is easier.

I also appreciated William Treseder's "Using Harsh Feedback to Fuel Your Career." He made several points that resonated with me, but the most striking one was something I'd never even thought of before—a point about how striving for well-roundedness is a waste of time on certain projects: "Over a few painful years," Treseder says, "I’ve learned to look for collaborators when I’m not good at something. The upside is incredible. What takes me ten grinding hours will take them ten minutes, be higher quality, and they will enjoy doing it." It's an excellent point, and something I'm going to try to keep in mind as I move forward in life.

For the articles on giving feedback, the first one I checked out was "The Difference Between Praise That Promotes Narcissism vs. Healthy Self-Esteem" by Poncie Rutsch. But the article I got the most out of was "Try Feedforward instead of Feedback" by Marshall Goldsmith. He ran a study that found giving feedback about how to improve in the future (rather than looking back at what could've been done better in the past) is more efficient and better-received than traditional feedback. I wouldn't have thought of this, but it makes a ton of sense, and it's something I'm going to try to use on the project feedback this semester.




Image Credit: Laptop by parthshah000. Source: Pixabay.