As I had mentioned previously, this year, I’m going back to school. Not to take classes, but to teach a course at my alma mater, Fanshawe College. I did this about a decade ago and thought it was interesting, so I was excited to give it another go. Additionally, after a friend mentioned that their kid wanted to learn Python, I developed an Intro to Python aimed at high school students that I’m teaching weekly. I thought that this would be good fodder for the State of Security. So, whenever I have something interesting to discuss, expect to find it here.

This week was mid-term week, so grades were due and exams were happening. It was also the start of reviews here at Tripwire, so the pairing of the two got me thinking about effective feedback. Feedback is such an important part of growth, but for some reason most of us hate giving it and even more of us hate receiving it. If I’m being honest, negative feedback makes me angry. I know it’s a part of life, but I don’t handle it well. I think the same is true for those I’ve worked with, those I’ve managed, and those I’ve taught. Negative feedback never goes over well.

Self-Evaluation

When someone receives negative feedback, they can feel backed into a corner and get defensive, arguing their position or justifying their behavior. I happen to be a very blunt person, I’m not big on flowery words or sugar coating the truth. I spent years getting the same feedback in my reviews year after year. “If you ever want to manage people, you need to learn to communicate better.” “You have a bad reputation because of how harsh your criticisms are.” I shrugged them off. My reasoning: “Don’t (Read more...)