Feedback Strategies

Five Reasons to Stop Saying "Good Job!", by Alfie Kohn.

(Source: https://bit.ly/34bMWQB)

(Image source:https://imgflip.com/memetemplate/168383127/Schwarzenegger-thumbs-up)

In Alfie's post, they talk about how the term "Good Job!" is more manipulative and less encouraging, with this they explain that.

" As if it weren’t bad enough that "Good job!" can undermine independence, pleasure, and interest, it can also interfere with how good a job children actually do. Researchers keep finding that kids who are praised for doing well at a creative task tend to stumble at the next task – and they don’t do as well as children who weren’t praised to begin with."

Anyone can become discouraged by being praised for one task and then losing interest in doing the next task as we've already received the sought after reward. With this "Good Job!" feels as though the Job in question is finished and we don't need room to improve. Improvement is always needed, however.

"But, warns Lilian Katz, one of the country’s leading authorities on early childhood education, "once attention is withdrawn, many kids won’t touch the activity again." Indeed, an impressive body of scientific research has shown that the more we reward people for doing something, the more they tend to lose interest in whatever they had to do to get the reward. Now the point isn’t to draw, to read, to think, to create – the point is to get the goody, whether it’s an ice cream, a sticker, or a "Good job!"."

Try Feedforward Instead of Feedback, by Marshall Goldsmith.

(Source: https://www.marshallgoldsmith.com/articles/try-feedforward-instead-feedback/)

In this post, Marshall talks about how feedback focuses on the past whereas we cannot change the past and instead we can only work towards the future, so instead we must try to feedforward rather than feedback.

"We can change the future. We can’t change the past. Feedforward helps people envision and focus on a positive future, not a failed past. Athletes are often trained using feedforward. Racecar drivers are taught to, “Look at the road ahead, not at the wall.” Basketball players are taught to envision the ball going in the hoop and to imagine the perfect shot. By giving people ideas on how they can be even more successful (as opposed to visualizing a failed past), we can increase their chances of achieving this success in the future."

With this, it is important to use feedforward as it can help with conversing with your peers, your team and your manager. Feedback is associated with being critical, which can be taken to have more negative connotations. Feedforward instead shines a more progressive light into the future and what we can work on to become better at our field.

 This is why with your team, it is more important to use feedforward as sharing a creative idea yet becoming split on how to take your approach can lead to tensions.

Overall I will remember to use Feedforward and avoid using the term "Good Job!" in the future as I have learned how to give my critique on others work more positively and productively.