week 3: criticism

While many things can be described like this, criticism is really easy to do badly and really hard to do well. I hear a lot of it through work both in and out of the office (not directed at me of course because I'm the golden boy from California with the soft, luxuriant hair) and almost all of it is the badly done variety.

The criticism falls largely into two categories. The first is criticism directed at the people being criticized. It's usually of the 'maybe if I shout at you enough, you'll do your job properly' kind. I'm not a big believer in that school of thought. I'm much more into the 'coaching and persuading by showing how this is our common goal so we should work towards it' kind. I like my way because shouting does one of two things to most people. Either it makes them nervous and nervous people usually don't perform well or it causes them to tune out and be non-responsive thus repeating the same mistakes over and over. Plus, most of my authority at work is derived from respect and persuasion maintains that respect much better than shouting ever will.

The other type of criticism is when it is said when the person it is about is not around. It tends to take the form of second guessing decisions that were made. There's the Monday morning quarterback for the plan that went badly in the morning, along with the Monday afternoon quarterback for those decisions that don't quite play out later in the day, then the Tuesday morning quarterback for whoever didn't pitch in their two cents on Monday, and the Tuesday afternoon quarterback who just wants to rub it in, and, you get the picture. People who engage in this type of sniping are almost always the ones who don't have to make decisions that can be questioned. If anything, their jobs tend to be devoid of almost all actual decision making. And it's really easily to criticize when it isn't your own reputation and authority at stake.

Ultimately, constructive criticism is the goal. If you stop and take a moment to consider a situation and inquire about how it arose, it's far easier to give constructive criticism. But if you want to receive constructive criticism, you really cannot expect people to ask questions before they open their mouths. The best way to combat that is communication. If I succinctly communicate my reasoning for a decision, I can both receive worthwhile feedback on it and it enables other people to adjust when the situation changes.

In this business where the situation can change very quickly and jobs can go unexpectedly early or new ones can call in, it important that everyone is on the same page. That enables decisions to be made that don't bollocks up other plans. Plus, if I usually take the time to explain a decision, then the few times where it is not possible to do so, I can get the benefit of the doubt that there is some sort of compelling reason that I did not. Additionally, if I explain why we're doing something a particular way and convince others that it is an effective method, then they'll do the task more enthusiastically and ultimately do a better job.

Communication is a small investment that yields incredible returns. It heads off pointless criticisms and makes you look intelligent and aware. And yet people do so little of it.