Constructive Criticism

The first show I ever directed was a one-act play by the Irish author Lady Gregory called "Spreading the News." I was just learning how to communicate with actors, and their performances demonstrated that. Watching the final run through, it seemed to me that everyone was in a different play. I took several pages of notes about everyone's performance, and after the run through of this half-hour play I kept the cast sitting on stage for an hour, listening to my criticisms of their performance. I described where they failed and told them how to correct it for next time, and then dismissed them.

After the notes session, my teacher Jerry Maijzlin gave me some notes. He said, "when you're giving notes, it's important to tell the actors the good things they did along with the things you want improved. Otherwise, they'll think they're no good and will stop trying. If the performance is truly terrible, don't dwell on it. Pick one thing for each person that you want improved, and tell them. At least that one area will be better next time."

I realized after working for years in television that this is great advice for all managers. You must praise people if they do well; that makes them want to do better. You should point out areas where they can improve, so they will. And if everyone is doing a bad job, pick one area where you absolutely need improvement and tell them -- at least that will be better.

That's how stars manage.