When criticism is minimized and praise emphasized, the good things people do will be reinforced and the poorer things will atrophy for lack of attention.
Dale Carnegie in How to Win Friends and Influence People
Why is it so easy to see the speck in another person’s eye and ignore the log in our own? We like to pick apart those that are close to us and ignore the self-improvement we could make and have the control to do.
I am the oldest of four kids. Unfortunately, that meant I was really good at seeing the faults in my siblings since I had at least a two-year head start on them. I’d say none of them benefited from my years of “constructive criticism.” They are wonderful, healthy adults today in spite of my influence rather than because of it.
Criticism is too easy. It lets us off the hook of our own self-improvement and focuses on the improvement of others. Sure, employees need to be accountable to bosses and managers. But look for ways to do it that inspire good behavior rather than place an undue emphasis on the bad.
