Blog Prompt #14

 Criticism-- 'constructive' or not, it probably ranks pretty high on every person's list of "least favorite things to hear about yourself," Despite the stigma attached to it, constructive criticism is one of the most effective tools a person can use to help improve others around them when used correctly and tactfully. When I was a manager (Sous Chef) at a previous job, I constantly was being tasked with training my employees. While most people who do something professionally always see their skillset as better than those around them, line cooks in particular 'know' they are above needing trained. I myself was subject to these thoughts at one point as well, but I quickly realized I was dead wrong and adopted a humble attitude. Every day, I learned to open my eyes to those around me. Constantly watching, asking questions, trying new methods, etc. helped me exponentially accelerate my growth in the kitchen. Within months, I was then made a shift lead, and not long after a Sous Chef/ manager. I then had to learn a new skillset to refine- managing. Although I knew what a person should be doing and how they should be doing it, I was not aware of how important the delivery of the criticism is. When a cook is told they are doing something too slow or not consistently creating the expected product, they tend to close off, shut down, get frustrated, or maybe just flat-out quit. They are a very finnicky bunch. My skills as a cook may have been at a plateau for now, but I quickly realized my management skills were now what I needed to start refining. By taking a step back and assessing my own leadership abilities, I learned that the approach to every cook had to be uniquely tailored to that individual. Some people know what is expected of them and will take a blunt command pretty well. They know it isn't a personal attack, rather I simply am asking them to get something I need done. Others, I would have to formulate a serious of commands over a 30-minute period. The first would be a here-say comment about what I plan to do after my current task, then after a few minutes make another comment about how someone else just asked me to do something else first. Finally, I would approach them in earnest, asking them to please do the task (I originally wanted them to do in the first place) for me as I simply didn't have the time myself. This almost always worked. The point is, having the ability to both receive and apply constructive criticism will help a person truly elevate themselves in the long run. This in turn will help them give others appropriate constructive criticism where they know that person will also benefit. The smallest things create the biggest changes.