Let’s face it: criticism is a necessary evil in the workplace, but does it have to be evil?. Despite the common understanding of the word, “Criticism” in the office isn’t about making someone realize that they have a fundamental flaw, impressing guilt or finding fault. It’s about communicating information that will help others improve their performance.

Despite good intentions, criticism can have some nasty, performance inhibiting results, e.g. feeling bad, frustration, resentment… Luckily there’s things you can do to minimize the hurt and maximize the effectiveness of your critical communications.

A Spoon Full of Sugar Helps the Medicine Go Down

I learned this very effective tool at a very cheesy management seminar. It’s called the “compliment sandwich.” It’s where you start with something good, and then discuss the area that needs improvement, and finally end with something good. I’m having a hard time keeping a straight face while writing this because it sounds so cliché and corny, but it’s a truly effective way to communicate suggestions for improvement.

By leading in with something positive, it not only reinforces actions that you want, but it disarms them and makes them more receptive to the critique to follow. By following up with more positive feedback it allows that person to leave the exchange with some constructive feedback and a feeling that, overall, “That went well.”

“Nothing personal…”

If it’s not personal you shouldn’t feel compelled to say “Nothing personal.” If you do feel compelled to qualify it, then maybe you should rethink the actual subject of your critique. Make the subject of your criticism their actions or ideas, not them personally.

Instead of “You are not really getting the point,” it could be “That idea doesn’t really get to the heart of the problem.” Instead of “Brian you are a little too timid,” you could say “Brian, I’d like to see you have a more assertive tone in your sales calls.” Generally, people are open to changing the way they do things, but not their fundamental personality.

“But, but, but…”

Don’t simply dismiss their response as an excuse. If the issue is important enough to address with someone, it’s important enough to listen to what they have to say about it. Listening to their take on the issue at hand will give you a better understanding of their grasp on the issue, what led to the issue in the first place and how to address things with them in general.

Also, remember, no one’s perfect. There is a chance that you are wrong. Maybe you didn’t have all the facts, maybe you misunderstood the situation. There’s nothing more frustrating than a boss or coworker that refuses to admit when they make a mistake.

If you do these things next time you need to take someone to task, you are much more likely to achieve your goal of fostering performance not resentment.