my thoughts

A few years back I had written about the concept of a critical friend. Every individual needs some input and insight to become better in some specific area or in general. The concept of a critical friend is to have someone very close to oneself who tells about one’s strengths and weaknesses. You all would be aware of SWOT- strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats at a workplace. We also talk a lot about teamwork and its advantages. Whether it is the development of the team or an individual, there is a need for a coach, because critical friends can help us in knowing about our weaknesses, but how to overcome them can be advised and suggested by a coach. A coach is someone who would help an individual grow and do better in a specific skill or field. Though in our country we do have an idea about the importance of coaching that is mostly in the field of sports and lately seen in the trend of cracking entrance examinations. The corporates have a culture of mentors who help the newc

Recently I got hold of a book titled, “How emotions are made, the secret life of the brain” by Lisa Feldman Barrett. The book is divided into 13 chapters and all are relevant for everyone but the chapter on the topic of emotions and illness caught my eye. When I was reading this book, interestingly the students of class 11 D had an assembly on the topic – ‘The power of the subconscious mind’. Though there was some difference in the approach and the content but one thing common was that brain controls lot many things. The writer in this chapter talks about Anxiety and Depression. A common person remains confused about whether depression is caused by anxiety or the other way round. Most of the time we come across the statement that you should think positively and that will change the course of the problem. But what/who controls the thoughts of a person? Lisa writes that anxiety is the prediction of the brain which causes it and depression is the result of many wrong predictions, meaning

Prof. Avijit Pathak, retired Professor, JNU wrote an article in the Indian Express dated 20 th August which is an eye-opener even for the most optimistic people in the world. The title of the article was very interesting “CUET is not KBC”. Through this article, he suggested that VCs, teachers and students should come together and say no to MCQs in the entrance examination for universities, especially CUET(PG). He cites the example of JNU VC, Professor Shantishree Dhulipudi Pandit`s discomfort which she expressed while speaking at an idea exchange with Indian Express. When Professor Pathak says that CUET is not KBC, he means that the entrance to colleges and universities should not be based on one correct answer out of four or five options by mostly ruling out the wrong answers. I wrote in my earlier articles also that MCQs are not good options in assessing the understanding level of different concepts and creativity. This is fine to be as objective as possible in your evaluation but M

  I would like to thank all my readers for their responses and comments on the topic `Feedback`. As promised, the new article will focus on giving critical feedback. One thing was great in the comments that were in agreement with the feedback for the improvement in the performance of an individual and the institution. But the question is ` What is the better way of delivering bad news? ‘The answer has been given in chapter 4 of the book` Delivering Effective Feedback. ` This is the summary of a full-length HBR article by Jean-Francois Manzoni. Remember a situation in which the conversation between you and your teammate (to whom you gave critical feedback) turns out to be bad despite your best efforts. The tempers flare up and no one is listening to the other and you end up in a worse situation than what you started with. Would you place the entire blame on the person being given feedback or shoulder responsibility on yourself because you could not convey bad news appropriately? There

  If there is a perfect tool for growth, to motivate and improve,  effective and actionable feedback is the way to go. Recently I read a book titled, `Delivering Effective Feedback’ by Harvard Business Review Press’ a compilation of research papers and articles by different authors. Though the book I mentioned is for organizations and institutions, especially business organizations, I found it suitable for educational institutions as well. Not only that, even the approach discussed is applicable in every walk of life, be it family or social groups. Feedback can be understood as the process of letting somebody know the progress and the way forward, meaning thereby, to help an individual or a team by providing your observations. Though this seems to be simple but is a difficult and delicate task. Every organization has a system of annual appraisal wherein the head of the team comments on the performance of the team members. Feedback can be ongoing and formal. Ongoing feedback is when you