Kindly Review

10Land Mine

Ouch! Stepping on a land mine of feedback can send a creative reeling. However, this feedback style feels great most of the time. The creator cruises around getting constructive feedback most of the time, but then a complete redo blindsides them.

When it's a redo, this feedback can also come across as cutting and overly harsh. Land Mines might give very hurtful feedback when they are unsatisfied with an idea.

The reality of this feedback style is the feedback land mine isn't usually the creator's fault. It's usually a trusting but busy reviewer who is to blame. They have anxiety about their work life and performance.

I'm a Land Mine reviewer. I trust the people I work with to do their job well. If they don't, I'm quick to have Tough Love conversations. My feedback is most painful when I don't do my job of preparing the creator early in the process. When I blow up an idea, I drop the ball on giving the detail or expectations for a project. Land mines are usually due to miscommunication.

My Land Mine reviewers are groan‐worthy. My favorite Kind Collaborators often shift into Land Mines when they are stressed. They blow projects up because they don't have time to review and think. People sometimes use land mines to slow down projects so they can contribute. They often don't care about meeting deadlines or completing projects until they are satisfied.

But land mines ...