American feedback culture carefully separates evaluation of behavior from judgment of person. Feedback should address what someone did, not who someone is. “That was a poor decision” is appropriate; “You are incompetent” is not.
This distinction reflects beliefs about human dignity and the possibility of change—people are more than their mistakes, and behavior can improve while personhood remains. When delivering feedback to Americans, direct your evaluation at the action, work product, or decision rather than the individual’s character or worth. This separation makes criticism easier to receive because it offers hope: if the problem is behavior, behavior can change. Attacking the person rather than the performance will typically be seen as unfair and will damage relationships more than behavioral feedback does.
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