Praise and criticism -  management training

Never criticise someone without first praising them.  That's a rule of thumb we teach on the London based "Skills with People" course.  But surely doesn't that mean people will think you don't really mean it, feel patronised, mistrust what you say and be put on the defensive?

It depends how you do it.  Criticism often fails to get the best out of people because when you're giving it they get the impression you can't think of anything good to say about them.  That's bound to make them unreceptive.  Usually it isn't true that you can't think of anything good to say about them, but nevertheless it's how it appears to them, which means that if you criticise without praising you're in danger of giving a false impression.

On the Skills with People course you'll learn to be balanced with your praising and criticising.  You'll learn to do it believably, genuinely and honestly.  The effect of praising and criticising in this way is dramatic.  It not only encourages people, but also keeps them up to the mark, and it greatly enhances your image and reputation as a manager.

Some management trainers say it works best if you give praise not only before criticising but also after, in other words it needs to be done as a "praise/criticise/praise sandwich" or "feedback sandwich".  They say praise builds people up, criticism knocks them down, and therefore you have to end with praise in order to leave them on a high.

But we say something different.  If your praise is sufficiently generous, sincere and specific (see praising without patronising) they'll be convinced you're not approaching them in a spirit of attack, and therefore they'll be receptive to the criticism.  After all no one thinks they're perfect - we all know we have strengths and weaknesses.  Your constructive criticism isn't likely to be received as an attack.  Instead, most people are highly motivated to take it seriously.  So because your criticism doesn't "knock them down", there's no need to build them back up again.  The idea of the "sandwich" is a misunderstanding of the real emotional dynamics of the conversation.

You can learn and practise the art of effective praising and criticising on the Skills with people course.

You can find out what effect your praising and criticising has on people by doing our emotional intelligence test. (See also Constructive criticism, Giving feedback and Receiving criticism).