Date:         Mon, 23 Mar 1998 22:53:26 EST
From: "here come old flattop..." <mbarker@MIT.EDU>
Subject:      [WRITERS] FILLER: A Quote About Criticism

From Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman ISBN 0-553-09503-X

(p. 151) "In a sense, criticism is one of the most important
tasks...Indeed, how criticisms are given and received goes a long way to
determining how satisfied people are with their work [and] with those
they work with..."

"The Worst Way to Motivate Someone"

(p. 151) "...Criticisms are voiced as personal attacks rather than
complaints that can be acted upon; there are ad hominem charges with
dollops of disgust, sarcasm, and contempt; both give rise to
defensiveness and dodging of responsibility and, finally, to
stonewalling or the embittered passive resistance that comes from
feeling unfairly treated.  Indeed, one of the more common forms of
destructive criticism...is a blanket, generalized statement like 'You're
screwing up,' delivered in a harsh, sarcastic, angry tone, providing
neither a chance to respond nor any suggestion of how to do things
better.  It leaves the person receiving it feeling helpless and angry.
From the vantage point of emotional intelligence, such criticism
displays an ignorance of the feelings it will trigger in those who
receive it, and the devastating effect those feelings will have on their
motivation, energy, and confidence in doing their work."

What are effects of personal attacks?  defensiveness, excuses, or
evading responsibility.  stonewalling--avoiding the person who attacks.
thoughts of innocent victimhood or righteous indignation...

(p. 153) "The Artful Critique"

    "An artful critique can be one of the most helpful messages...Such a
message has the opposite impact of destructive criticism: instead of
creating helplessness, anger, and rebellion, it holds out the hope of
doing better and suggests the beginning of a plan for doing so."
    "An artful critique focuses on what a person has done and can do
rather than reading a mark of character into a job poorly done.  As
Larson observes,'A character attack--calling someone stupid or
incompetent--misses the point.  You immediately put him on the
defensive, so that he's no longer receptive to what you have to tell him
about how to do things better.'..."
    "And, in terms of motivation, when people believe that their
failures are due to some unchangeable deficit in themselves, they lose
hope and stop trying.  The basic belief that leads to optimism,
remember, is that setbacks or failures are due to circumstances that we
can do something about to change them for the better."

Points toward better critiques: (quoted from p. 153)

    1.  Be Specific.  Pick a significant incident, an event that
illustrates a key problem that needs changing or a pattern of
deficiency, such as the inability to do certain parts of the job well.
It demoralizes people just to hear that they are doing 'something' wrong
without knowing what the specifics are so they can change.  Focus on the
specifics, saying what the person did well, what was done poorly, and
how it could be changed.  Don't beat around the bush or be oblique or
evasive; it will muddy the real message. ...say exactly what the problem
is, what's wrong with it or how it makes you feel, and what could be
changed.
    2.  Offer a solution.  The critique, like all useful feedback,
should point to a way to fix the problem.  Otherwise it leaves the
recipient frustrated, demoralized, or demotivated.  The critique may
open the door to possibilities and alternatives that the person did not
realize were there, or simply sensitize her to deficiencies that need
attention--but should include suggestions about how to take care of
these problems.
    <clip>
    3.  Be sensitive.  This is a call for empathy, for being attuned to
the impact of what you say and how you say it on the person at the
receiving end. ...[lack of empathy often leads to a hurtful fashion of
feedback, such as the withering put-down] The net effect of such
criticism is destructive: instead of opening the way for a corrective,
it creates an emotional backlash of resentment, bitterness,
defensiveness, and distance.

(p. 154) Counsel for those receiving criticism:

    "...see the criticism as valuable information about how to do
better, not as a personal attack. ...watch for the impulse toward
defensiveness instead of taking responsibility.  And, if it gets too
upsetting [take a break] after a period to absorb the difficult message
and cool down a bit.  Finally,...see criticism as an opportunity to work
together with the critic to solve the problem, not as an adversarial
situation."





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