Comments and Criticism – Know what, how and why

People would really benefit from whether the comments and criticisms of general or specific nature to understand and correct their mistakes or attitude? How do the corporate bosses park their comments and criticism upon their subordinates? Do they offer specific comments or their comments are predominantly general, global vague and belittling the subordinates?

Most corporate bosses are generalists when they deal their subordinates. They neither want to be specific nor do they know how to be specific. Look at the alertness and the quick reflexes of both the predator and prey animals in jungle. Similarly look at the target specific antibiotics that are used in the treatment of different bacterial diseases and the drug resistance mechanism of wide variety of microbial pathogens. Both the above comparisons would give us better management insight about how the specific and general approaches can bring differences in the response pattern.

The drug resistance is an emerging challenge in the medical and health care sectors. The interesting point is that when the drug is specific and target centric, some microbes smartly evolves drug resistance to overcome the effect of the target drug. On the contrary, the general antiseptic/antimicrobial agents like phenol or other allied preparations, microbes are not yet developed/evolved any resistance mechanism.

When the agents are general and non target specific, the microbes show no definite mechanism to overcome the effect. Whereas when the agents are target centric, then the microbes develop resistance. Similarly, when the criticism and comments are specific, people will improve by using them. But if the criticisms and comments are general, people may find it hard to derive any sense or meaning from it. Such general or global comments will offer little help to people or the corporate.

If the intent of the boss is to correct the subordinates and guide them to the right path, then they should offer only specific comments. But most bosses criticize their subordinates not with the intent to improve them but only to weaken their morale, confidence and self esteem. That is why they offer general comments and criticism. If the subordinates ever improve, then it becomes a big problem to the bosses. To keep the distance between the boss and subordinate as constant as possible, the bosses consciously criticize them to shatter their confidence.

Look at the nature. Prey and predator, both are alert, smart & intelligent and are equally capable of dealing each other. Nature has never made one weak and another stronger. The prey animals know their specific predators and vice versa. Because of high specificity only both the groups of animal have developed equal level of capabilities. Neither of them is inferior or weak.

Content of our approach will change only when our intent is right, genuine, impartial and committed. The senior leadership in corporate must audit the comments and criticisms of the bosses that are passed onto their subordinates.

If the HR culture of ‘being specific’ than being generalist’ and such culture is strictly followed by the corporate, people will be longing for the criticism of others than would feel get whipped or weep due to such criticisms.

Dr S Ranganathan