Feedback is a strange animal. While most people claim to want feedback, their actions often tell an entirely different story, and when it comes to actions versus words, actions win every time. When the young wife asks the young husband, “Does this make me look fat?” the young husband quickly learns that responding with “Dear Heavens, honey, you look bigger than a warehouse,” is not the wisest choice.
Years ago, a smart old boss cautioned me about responding to bad news brought in by an employee. He pointed out that most managers “blow their stack” when given bad news, but they fail to realize that doing this a few times is enough to teach employees never again to bring in such upsetting news. The danger here is obvious – perhaps the news would alert the company management to a serious problem, but the employees have been conditioned to hide this information, so the upper reaches of the company often do not learn about the issue until it’s too late.
A perfect example of this is what happened to the PC party in the last provincial election. The management textbooks have hundreds of examples of corporate disasters, issues that had been identified by the staff years earlier, but never communicated to the bosses. How you respond to feedback is critically important.
This issue of feedback has become more important than ever, and perhaps less understood than ever. Over the last twenty-five years, the whole concept of “politically correct” has headed into some dangerous waters. On a daily basis, we are submerged under waves of social engineering groups, groups that have become progressively more shrill, more demanding, and less tolerant of any dissent to their opinions.
If you don’t believe me, try writing a letter to the editor of any Canadian newspaper, a letter that simply hints at a few negative aspects of any group in question. The poor fool who decides to do this will soon be attacked by a barrage of hostile criticism. It really doesn’t matter which group you discuss. The attacks will be brutal and continuous.
What is surprising, to me, is the fact that these groups who appear so willing to fight to the death for their own cherished manifestos show no desire to defend the beliefs of others.
These groups are making what I consider to be a deadly mistake. Just like the manager who gets angry at bad news, their replies are so violent and vicious; they guarantee that further feedback will never be received. Yet, deep in their core, the disease is starting to take root, and the poison is about to enter the system. With no feedback permitted, the future existence of these groups is now threatened, a threat that won’t be recognized until it’s far too late.
As my uncle always cautioned me: “never push too hard Brian, otherwise, someone just might start pushing back.”
Brian McLeod is a long time resident of St. Albert.
