Deconstructive criticism

Robert Kegan and Lisa Laskow Lahey coin the term "Deconstructive Criticism" in their 2001 book "Seven Languages for Transformation" (Josey Bass, Wiley, San Francisco).

They contrast the traditional modes of criticism of employees ("constructive" and "destructive") with this new mode of "deconstructive" by saying that traditional forms of criticism have an in-built assumption of holding the only true view of the situation (pp121ff). That is, the traditional forms of criticism, whether intended to tear down or build up, come from the perspective that there is one right view and that the supervisor holds it. They call this the "super-vision" assumption.

Deconstructive criticism allows that the supervisor's perspective may be legitimate, but also might not be. It allows for the possibility that the employee's view may also be valid (after all, she is closer to the situation).