#productivefeedback

Project retrospective templates are structured tools that guide your team. They provide a consistent format to evaluate outcomes, communication, teamwork, and techniques, and continuous process of improvement. 

A few days ago I saw an article with the heading that said there are only three things you should tell your child after a sports event. As a hockey, soccer and baseball Mom, I figured this was a must read for me so I clicked on the article. In essences it said the three things you should tell your child after a sports event are:   1. Great effort!   2. I’m proud of you.   3.  I love you. Frankly these words of wisdom rubbed me the wrong way and I haven’t been able to get it out of my mind. It finally occurred to me why. Giving platitudes for effort does not prepare your child for life as an adult. Yes my job as a parent is to provide unconditional love and support but even more importantly is that I raise my children to be independent successful adults. We are starting to see the impact of this solely supportive form of parenting in the workplace. The millennial generation was raised in a world where there were no winners and losers. Everyone got a medal for participation. In my opinion this was a disservice to these children that are now young adults. The real world is not like that nor is the workplace. It can be a rude awakening for millennials when they find out that the workplace is not the warm, fuzzy protective world they grew up in. Imagine if after an employee finishes a presentation that was mediocre and missed the mark on communicating key messages, the supervisor said “great effort, I’m proud of you and I love you”. Everyone may feel good about themselves but your organization will not succeed. Being supportive is critical but equally important is teaching children and adults how to be successful. Productive feedback is the best approach. Debriefing after a sports event or a workplace assignment should include a discussion on what went well along with what can be improved for next time and an action plan for achievement. It is important to pick the right time to provide productive feedback. It is likely bad timing to tell someone what went wrong at the moment of failure when emotions are high. The person will become defensive and not responsive to the feedback. Saying something along the line of great try we will talk tomorrow about what went well and what didn’t is supportive but sets a definite time to talk through the problems. In other words give them time to get rid of the negative emotion and get them ready to learn. By acknowledging the emotion and the effort while at the same time providing ways to improve, children and organizations will develop, grow and be successful.