In The Man Who Lied to His Laptop: What Machines Teach Us About Human Relationships, Clifford Nass, the Thomas M. Storke Professor at Stanford University, explains why this outdated management practice is not only ineffective, it actually does more harm than good. Our brains are continually evaluating things that happen to us as good or bad; we are wired to notice and respond to negative experiences, much more than positive ones because this keeps us safer by preparing us to react.

According to Nass, "One fascinating side effect of the power of negativity is that you remember less of what is said before receiving criticism because negative remarks demand so much cognitive power that the brain cannot move the prior information into long-term memory." In other words, when criticism follows praise, we immediately forget the praise, which requires less cognitive effort, and focus more strongly on the criticism, which makes us remember it better! In this brief video clip, you can view Professor Nass discussing some of his findings...

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Read Bruna's entire article at https://www.openforum.com/idea-hub/topics/the-world/article/the-criticism-sandwich-a-stale-idea-bruna-martinuzzi

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Consider one of The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership® from The Leadership Challenge® “Encourage the Heart” for more ideas about supporting the basic human need to be appreciated. When this practice is used frequently, giving criticism becomes a way for leaders to show they care about the growth of an individual.

Pat Schally, ed.