How to Handle Criticism: Sieve Mentality Calculator

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In part one of this series, Personal Growth and Development: Ditch the Sponge Mentality explored the importance of feedback for your personal, academic, and professional growth. Feedback gives you the opportunity to identify positive behaviors you should repeat and identify negative behaviors you should avoid. This insight is priceless and can be one of the greatest gifts you’ve ever received if you have the right mindset.

The right mentality

There are two ways to approach feedback: with a sponge mentality or a sieve mentality. People with a sponge mentality approach life by “soaking in” every constructive feedback that comes their way and try to act on it. Initially, this might seem like a good idea, until you get so much feedback that you’re oversaturated and overwhelmed. Do you often feel frustrated with a number of things you need to “improve”? Do you ever think you’re not good enough? Do you feel like you have so much to improve, but you don’t know where to start? If so, you may be operating with the sponge mentality…you’ve absorbed so much feedback that you’ve gone from not doing a task well to beginning to doubt your abilities as a being. human.

Prolonged periods of self-doubt can be destructive and counterproductive to your development. This is why it is so important to ditch the sponge mentality and embrace the sieve mentality. Instead of absorbing all the constructive feedback that comes your way, filter out the excess and keep the feedback that would have the greatest impact. The sieve mentality encourages a more strategic approach to feedback and forces you to be intentional about what you focus on and why.

How to Adopt the Sieve Mentality

To adopt the sieve mentality, use the model I developed called the SIFT. The SIFT model requires you to assess feedback based on certain vital variables to help you organize and prioritize your feedback. Here is a breakdown of the model and why each variable matters:

Source: It is important to consider the source when prioritizing your comments. The source is the person who provided the feedback and helps provide context and clarity for what they observed. We all have a variety of people we interact with daily, weekly, and monthly. While everyone’s comments are helpful, it’s important to note that comments from a stranger carry a different weight than comments from someone you have a trusted relationship with. Impact: Understanding the impact of your behavior on yourself, others, the mission, or the project is another critical element when determining how you want to respond to feedback. The impact can be low, medium or high, but it is important to think about how this behavior affects different parts of your life. The higher the impact level of the behavior, the more urgency one generally feels to correct the behavior. Frequency: How often you receive feedback on the same item is important to consider. Comments that are only mentioned once a year versus twice a week make a difference. If you receive feedback on a behavior more than once, the behavior is clearly visible, which may correlate to an increased level of impact. The more often the behavior is displayed, the greater the risk of affecting others. Pattern: Sometimes we see feedback patterns appearing in several aspects of our lives. Other times the feedback may be isolated to a single area of ​​our lives. Either way, it’s important to explore whether or not this is a recurring theme in your life. By slowing down and thinking about where the feedback appears (work, home, school, etc.), you can position yourself to better plan your approach.

By using the SIFT model, you will be able to adopt the sieve mentality and better decide what to hold on to and what to let go of. Try out the template and see if the sieve can sift through your feedback so you can focus on the most meaningful items.

Instructions

Think about some comments you have received recently. Review the grid below to determine if this is something you need to prioritize and keep right now. Review each of the variables and circle the number that you think best represents your thoughts on the feedback received. Finally, add up all the numbers to see what you can do to manage your comments:

SIFT model

Source Impact Frequency Trend (1pt) Foreign (1pt) Small (1pt) Mentioned once (1pt) Only in one area of ​​your life (2pt) Knowledge (2pt) Medium (2pt) Mentioned twice (2pt) Two areas of your life (3pt ) Trusted contact (3pts) Great (3pt) Mentioned 3x or more (3pt) 3 or more areas of your life

© 2017 Shanita Williams

Source + Impact + Frequency + Trend = ___________

Results

If your score is:

10 – 12: Prioritize these comments: Develop an action plan.

7-9: This item has merit: Work on it after focusing on other high priority items.

6 or less: These items may come out of the strainer.

Dr. Shanita Williams has worked in the field of learning and development for over 10 years. She has extensive experience in designing learning solutions that facilitate employee development at all organizational levels. She is currently the Assistant Vice President of Learning and Development for SNHU. In her role, she works as a strategic thinking partner for five business units and delivers high-impact learning programs to nearly 1,300 employees and 150 managers. Her area of ​​expertise includes: Emotional Intelligence (EQ), DiSC, Limiting Beliefs, Change Management, Coaching and Feedback. Williams earned her doctorate in educational leadership, where her research focused on the lived experiences of working mothers as students. She is CEO of Momploydent, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization committed to helping working mothers excel academically.

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