In an article published by Harvard Business Review, titled The Feedback Fallacy, authors Marcus Buckingham and Ashley Goodall discuss how negative feedback on peers is more detrimental than it would seem. The article shows why we, as a society, think learning what we need to improve upon from peers is beneficial, but tells us we are wrong and that we have no right to judge other people. They discuss how we should not judge other people because we are the best judge of ourselves, not others. They then talk about ways to give negative feedback so that it does benefit those who receive the feedback.
The authors’ attitude toward feedback from peers is that the feedback is useless and unbeneficial, they show this through their use of analogies. One analogy they use is how having co-workers rate you is just as accurate as colorblind people rating how red a rose is. Obviously colorblind people are physically incapable of rating the redness of a rose, which is exactly their point (The Feedback Fallacy). The authors want to show that co-workers, or anyone for that matter, really do not know what you need to improve upon, only you do. Another analogy the authors use is referring to doctors and patients. After a proceedure, doctors will inquire how much pain their patient is feeling. No matter what number the patient says, the doctor prescribes a certain medication for it because no two people have the same threshold for pain (The Feedback Fallacy). This is meant to show how you are the best judge of yourself, and that you know what you need to work on and improve upon.
I agree and disagree with the article. I agree with the parts where the authors talk about how if someone is berating you, your brain goes into fight or flight mode and shuts down all other systems. This has happened to me, when I am being yelled at or am being criticized harshly, I either want to defend myself or I want to stop the conversation and not hear what the person has to say depending on the situation. I disagree with their idea that peer evalutions are pointless. I personally think that others are able to point things out to me that I did wrong or where I did not realize I was being a jerk. This has happened before and I have been able to become a better person because of their comments on my work and actions.
https://hbr.org/2019/03/the-feedback-fallacy
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