“Faithful are the wounds of a friend.” — Proverbs 27:6
Lesson
What You Will Learn
- Receive correction without defensiveness
- Give feedback that is specific, kind, and useful
- Participate in a performance review
Lesson Notes
Receiving Feedback
Correction can feel like rejection, especially if we've been criticized harshly before. At work, feedback is usually about the task, not your worth.
Try: listen fully, say “Thank you for telling me,” ask a clarifying question, and make a plan. You can disagree later, calmly, if needed.
Giving Feedback
Use S-B-I: Situation (when and where), Behavior (what you observed), Impact (the effect). “During the lunch rush today, when you restocked the napkins without being asked, the line moved faster. Thank you.” Give far more positive feedback than negative.
Performance Reviews
Many employers hold reviews at 90 days and yearly. Bring notes on what you've accomplished, questions about how to grow, and an open attitude. Ask, “What is one thing I could do to be even more valuable to the team?”
Key Terms
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Feedback | Information about how you're doing |
| Defensiveness | Reacting to feedback by arguing or blaming |
| S-B-I | Situation, Behavior, Impact |
| Performance review | A formal meeting about your work |
In-Class Activities
Defensive or Open?
For each response, mark D (defensive) or O (open), then rewrite the defensive ones.
- “That's not my fault. Nobody told me.”
- “Thanks for telling me. Can you show me the right way?”
- “You're always picking on me.”
- “I see what you mean. I'll double-check next time.”
S-B-I Practice
Write one positive and one constructive S-B-I statement for a classmate's group-work behavior this week.
Assignment: 90-Day Review Preparation
Imagine you have worked at a job for 90 days. Prepare for your review:
- Three accomplishments you would share.
- One area where you want to grow.
- Two questions for your supervisor.
- How you will respond if you receive criticism.
Graded with the Module Assignment Rubric.
Reflection Journal
Proverbs 27:6 says the wounds of a friend are faithful. How do you usually react when corrected? What would help you receive correction as something that can help you grow?
Prayer focus: Ask God for a teachable heart and the security to hear correction without fear.
Weekly Reading & Devotions
Correction Is Not Rejection
For many women, correction has come with shame: being yelled at, belittled, or told they would never amount to anything. So when a supervisor says, You need to do this differently, it can feel like an attack. The body tenses; defenses go up.
It helps to remember that workplace feedback is usually about the task, not your worth. A supervisor who takes time to correct you often sees potential in you. The ones who give up on workers stop correcting them.
Try this when you receive feedback: listen fully, say Thank you for telling me, ask a clarifying question, and make a plan. If you disagree, you can ask for a private conversation later, when you are calm.
Giving feedback well is a leadership skill. The S-B-I method keeps it fair: describe the Situation, the Behavior you observed, and its Impact. During the lunch rush, when you restocked napkins without being asked, the line moved faster. Thank you. Give far more encouragement than correction.
Performance reviews, often at 90 days and yearly, are a chance to show growth. Bring notes on your accomplishments and ask, What is one thing I could do to be even more valuable to the team? That question alone sets you apart.
Think About It
- How do you usually react when corrected? ______________________
- What helps you hear correction without shame? ______________________
- Whom could you encourage with specific feedback this week? ______________________
Daily Devotions for Week 7
Faithful Wounds
Faithful are the wounds of a friend.— Proverbs 27:6 (KJV)
Honest correction from someone who cares can sting, but it helps us grow. Flattery feels good but leaves us unchanged.
Reflect: Who in your life tells you the truth in love?
Pray: Lord, give me friends who tell me the truth.
Do: Thank someone who corrected you for your good.
Loving Instruction
Whoso loveth instruction loveth knowledge: but he that hateth reproof is brutish.— Proverbs 12:1 (KJV)
Wise people welcome correction because it helps them grow. A teachable heart is one of the most valuable qualities an employee can have.
Reflect: Is your heart teachable right now?
Pray: Lord, give me a teachable heart.
Do: Ask someone for feedback on one thing you're working on.
No Condemnation
There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus.— Romans 8:1 (KJV)
Correction and condemnation are different. Correction says, Do this differently. Condemnation says, You are worthless. In Christ, condemnation is gone. You can hear correction because your worth is secure.
Reflect: Where do you still hear condemnation?
Pray: Lord, free me from condemnation.
Do: Replace one condemning thought with Romans 8:1 today.
Encourage One Another
Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.— 1 Thessalonians 5:11 (KJV)
Encouragement is a command, not an extra. Specific praise builds people up and strengthens teams.
Reflect: Who has encouraged you recently?
Pray: Lord, make me an encourager.
Do: Give one specific S-B-I compliment today.
Growing Up
But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things.— Ephesians 4:15 (KJV)
Growth happens when truth and love meet. Receiving and giving honest feedback in love is how we mature.
Reflect: Where is God growing you right now?
Pray: Lord, help me grow through truth spoken in love.
Do: Write down one area you want to grow in and share it with someone you trust.
Module Quiz
- 1.
What does S-B-I stand for?
- 2.
Which response to correction is most open?
- 3.
A good question to ask in a performance review is:
- 4.
Workplace feedback is usually about the task, not your worth as a person.
- 5.
Write a positive S-B-I statement.