We all have something to say about everything. And in our office lives, it comes in the form of feedback. Whether it is a team, whether it is a company-customer relation, we have too many interactions to deal with different types of situations. With conversations and interactions come the insights of the other person, how he/ she behaves and deals with technical and communication-related aspects. The outcomes of such interactions are positive, negative, or neutral to us.
Among all these cases, when do you respond or talk to the other party more? The most common answer is when the outcome is “Negative”. In fact, in any general discussion, what draws our attention the most is the negative part of it. So, as we find a problem in the product or behavior, the first thing we do is complain to the concerned. It is like in the case of a senior complaining to the junior or a customer to the company. One may say that we are pretty proactive for negative communication.
But are we proactive in the same fashion, when it comes to communicating a positive comment? In Corporates, across the hierarchies, we directly or indirectly talk more about the negatives and it is normal too as we are always improving for the better, which starts with criticism. While the people up the ladder communicate the negatives directly with their juniors, the juniors crib about the problems first, that too indirectly. In most instances, it is difficult for many people to even realize the positive points of a person.
Psychologically, a negative point has more weightage and given more prominence than a positive point of the same intensity. But it is time to bring about a change in this. We, as Corporate employees, need to give equal importance to both positive and negative aspects and convey to the other party with equal intent. This behavior helps us build confidence in others' talent, and help others understand the improvement areas. Overall, constructive feedback covering all aspects conveys your message very well and builds a good team spirit.
The next time you judge something, you will observe all the aspects. Will you?