Feedback Strategies

The two articles I read on giving feedback are the following: Be a Mirror: Give Readers Feedback That Fosters a Growth Mindset by Gravity Goldberg and Why Do So Many Managers Avoid Giving Praise? by Jack Zenger and Joseph Folkman.
They were both interesting to read. I thought the advice from Be a Mirror to "take yourself out of the feedback" is a good idea. Feedback should be focused on the writer and not the opinions of the reader. Also, it was nice to see some actual stats in the second article and I appreciate the lesson that positive reinforcement is important. If someone never gets something nice from doing there work or trying hard then the only reason they would continue to do so is their stubbornness. Both articles said the being specific in feedback is important. Which seems obvious to me because the more specific the feedback the easier it is to understand what you did well or what you can do to improve.
From reading these, what's important in giving feedback is being specific and making the feedback about the author and not about your own opinions. Honestly, if you don't like the type of story or the message then go read something else. But if you see something the author can improve or something they did really well, point it out, and do both if you can.

Funny comic on feedback

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Positive Thinking and Feedback Thoughts

The fear of making mistakes or not doing well can stop anyone from even attempting something new. The goal is to get past the fear or self-doubt and try anyway because mistakes are the greatest learning tool. There are certainly examples in my life that I've learned from mistakes and that learning is still with me today.
Getting feedback on pretty much anything can be very helpful because someone else might think of something you did not consider. Also, it's always good to have a second set of eyes because it can be easy to miss your own mistakes, especially in writing.
Two articles I read had some very good advice. The first one, Seven Ways to Crush Self-Doubt in Creative Work by John Spencer, goes well with Growth Mindset and tells us that we should not be comparing ourselves to others nor attempting to be perfect. This is good advice because it is way too easy to compare ourselves to others and find more reasons to doubt ourselves because of that. Also, in attempting to be perfect can erase the character of the individual in their work and that is no good. The other article, A Simple 5-Second Habit to Rewire Your Harshly Self-Critical Brain by Joel Almeida, uses science to tell us that we can develop our brains to be more helpful and stop being too critical of ourselves. This reminds me of a saying I've heard, "Life is what you make it." And thus is completely true because there is huge difference in the enjoyment someone gets out of something depending on their attitude.

Positive Thinking Cat

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