What’s the difference between constructive criticism vs destructive criticism?
Nearly everyone theoretically understands that constructive criticism allows you to give feedback while keeping things harmonious in the workplace. But hardly anyone knows how to measure the constructiveness or the destructiveness of particular criticism.
After all, it’s a hard thing to tell constructive criticism apart from destructive in many situations. There are simply too many variables at play that make any attempt at figuring out whether some criticism will be taken positively or negatively futile.
Understanding constructive criticism vs destructive criticism
It’s vital to first understand what the two types of criticisms do before we move any further.
As the names imply:
- Constructive criticism “adds” to productivity. It’s taken positively. It urges people to work better. It doesn’t just point out a fault – it enables the one at fault to learn from their mistakes and grow.
- Destructive criticism doesn’t add but removes from productivity. Blatantly pointing out mistakes of employees in front of the whole office is the quickest way to decrease the employee’s morale and confidence, which in turn makes them even more prone to making mistakes.
Needless to mention, destructive criticism is a downward spiral. It only worsens the situation. Apparently, the only way to sustain a workplace built on destructive criticism is to provide an ever-increasing amount of it until the employee(s) feels overwhelmed and distrustful.
Two Types Of Criticism
All this achieves is the employee’s scowling behind the back and potentially also quickly leaving the workplace when better opportunities arrive.
You don’t want that. It’s never the solution.
Here are some constructive criticism vs destructive criticism examples:
- Constructive: Perhaps we can improve on this prototype if we put more thought into this, what do you think?
- Destructive: I don’t like this. Do something else and spend some more time on the design.
- Constructive: I’m impressed by the results you have produced so far. In one instance, however, I believe going the X route will benefit us more instead of Y.
- Destructive: Why are you doing it the X way? Y would be much better.
You’d notice that constructive criticism doesn’t need to be structurally different from destructive. The point is the same. The underlying idea is the same. It’s just presented with a different ingredient – empathy. Sometimes, with a little encouragement to do better instead.
Don’t be looking in the wrong place
Your judgment is likely to be myopic when finding out the root of the difference between constructive and destructive criticism.
For example, for the most part, we believe it’s the criticism itself or the way it’s delivered that decides whether it will be taken positively or negatively. Though it’s indeed true to some extent, this isn’t the full picture.
A large hidden factor is at play here. And that is the employee itself. To be more precise, it’s the combination of the mood and background of the person receiving the criticism.
The same criticism can be taken differently by people from different backgrounds or those in different positions. At the same time, it can be taken differently by the same person when in different moods.
Read the room, so to speak, before you criticize someone or their work.
Play safe, until you can’t anymore
The best way to supply feedback or give criticism especially in sensitive situations (such as telling your superiors about some long-ongoing productivity obstacle) is to play it safe.
Hide the critical nature of the criticism.
Instead of saying “X policy is damaging work morale”, rephrase it to “I believe we’d work more efficiently if Y was the case,” which implies as if X wasn’t the case. This makes people in more powerful positions solemnly consider an alternative.
Feedback is important. Play it safe!
On the other hand, delivering negative criticism nonchalantly to your subordinates or those lower down on the hierarchy can be bafflingly easy.
More often than not, if you don’t phrase your criticism carefully when providing feedback to those who work under you, it will be taken negatively – thus making it destructive criticism.
If your feedback has been taken negatively in the past then it’s all the more reason to play it safe. Destructive criticism will often be interpreted as part of a toxic workplace.
There are indeed employees who make mistakes even after receiving proper instructions or guidance. However, destructive criticism is never the solution. It only worsens the situation.
A point comes when staying safe isn’t an option anymore. At that point, you should look at other alternatives for providing your feedback.
Be mindful of the employee’s past experiences
Is the employee a low-performing one? Has the employee been picked out for it in the past? Is their past work record uninspiring? All this can make even the subtlest of positive feedback backfire.
It doesn’t take much for positive encouragement to become negative criticism if the person in question has been picked out for similar mistakes or low performance in the past.
Even a slight recognition of a drawback or problem most positively and cheerfully can lead to unhappiness as it might resonate with the past experiences of the employee.
In this case, your constructive criticism is no different from the destructive criticism from the employee’s past.
This sort of blurs the whole constructive criticism vs destructive criticism debate.
If you happen to be sure of such past experiences of an employee then it’s best to refrain from directly pointing out any mistakes. Instead, give them hints to let them find out the mistakes on their own.
Best practices of delivering constructive criticism (or transforming destructive criticism to constructive)
Constructive criticism might take a while to get a hang of.
- Warnings: Giving a short warning before giving criticism allows employees to manage their expectations before receiving any feedback. This saves them from any surprises or shock. If an employee worked hard on a project and something is lacking that they don’t know of, then in their mind they have done an amazing job and they’d be expecting appreciation. Sudden criticism might throw them off.
- Transform the criticism into a question: Don’t lead with the criticism itself but a question. For example, if someone produced an error then ask them did they double-check it or just that how did it go. If they say all went fine then urge them to check once more. If the employee finds a mistake this way then they’d be more careful in the future as well. Works best with missed deadlines or forgotten tasks – how’s the report coming along? I didn’t check but did you mail it?
- Talk about similar mistakes first: Sometimes, it also helps to lead with a similar mistake – perhaps one you made yourself or someone else did, no matter when. “When I was doing that last month, I forgot to mention an invoice number on the new batch of invoices.” This allows the employee to cross-check the information in their head and figure out where they went wrong, all by themselves.
These are only some of the ways to make your destructive criticism harmless feedback. The key in constructive criticism vs destructive criticism is, as we mentioned initially, empathy. Any type of empathic communication can transform your criticism from negative to positive, or from destructive to constructive.
Positive, constructive criticism always adds to morale. It also improves productivity. However, there’s no rule as to what comprises constructive criticism. Any positive feedback can be taken negatively depending on the person in question and the situation.
Always put yourself in the employee’s shoes before you give feedback.
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