TL:DR – The review process is for refining, not ridiculing.
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In 2006, Sir Ken Robinson presented a TED Talk titled “Do Schools Kill Creativity?” With over 75 million views across all platforms, this TED Talk has become the most-watched TED Talk ever.
While the entire video is worth watching if you are involved in Instructional Design, he makes one key criticism from which all of us can learn:
Mistakes are stigmatized.
Because mistakes are stigmatized, children learn not to take risks (especially creative risks) because they fear being “wrong.” But Robinson asserts: “If you’re not prepared to be wrong, you’ll never come up with anything original.”
Therefore, when you review any creative project (especially training deliverables), be sure to provide a real review, and not ridicule.
Reviewing is for refining and improving, not ridiculing and criticizing.
We all get it wrong (That is the nature of creativity and learning!), so be gentle and fair when providing feedback.
Whether you are conducting a peer review or reviewing a subordinate’s work, they should leave the review encouraged, not discouraged, their content AND countenance improved.
Are you stigmatizing mistakes?
Are you killing creativity?
As Sir Ken Robinson said, “We don’t grow into creativity, we grow out of it. Or rather, we get educated out of it.”
Don’t criticize your team out of being creative.
Remember, reviewing is for refining… not criticizing.
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