– And therefore especially for leaders who want to enable change –
I don’t like sandwich ❗️
At least not as feedback
So often in communication and leadership training I have been taught to always present the negative feedback with a slice of positive feedback before and after – the so-called sandwich feedback:
“Your presentation was great. Unfortunately, topic X was missing. At least you explained topic Y great”
👉🏻 Honestly:
I find such sandwich feedback almost an insult to the intelligence of the recipient. You smell a rat right away and feel like you’ve been made fun of.
In addition, depending on the type of person, the praise is either completely devalued or the criticism is overheard. If it goes badly, the recipient is also conditioned in such a way that he expects a criticism after each praise in the long run.
👉🏻 Of course the thought behind it is correct:
If you feel appreciated by the feedback provider, it is much easier to accept suggestions for improvement.
However, when used as a method, it seems very artificial to me and not meant honestly.
👉🏻 In contrast, I find the idea of the relationship bank account much better:
Those who regularly pay into it over a longer period of time through praise, support, interest, etc. can also take off from it if they express constructive criticism in clear words.
So to speak a sandwich over a very long period of time.
For the actual suggestion for improvement, I like best the „SAY IT” simply method. But more about that in the next post.
