shit sandwich

Some advocate for the “feedback sandwich” — giving praise before and after criticism to soften the blow — but I think that Ben Horowitz got it right when he called the feedback sandwich the “shit sandwich.”

The Feedback Sandwich Is Ineffective: Do This Instead | Radical Candor Kim Scott 2024

As a result, many managers engage in a tactic known colloquially as "the sh-t sandwich," or if you're in polite company, "the praise sandwich."

A 4-Step Approach to Negative Feedback That's Way Better Than the 'Sh-t Sandwich' 2024

Whatever you call it, it is really just a shit sandwich!It’s when we “sandwich” negative feedback in between two (often very vague) compliments. At its worst, it sounds something like this

Enough of the shit sandwich! How to do feedback better Julia Clavien 2018

I tell my boss once a week he needs to do the "shit sandwich" as you call it. I have tried to phrase it in a shit sandwich and not. He never listens. I've counted, and 17 out of 47 people will be leaving the team when they can because of him, myself included.

The "shit sandwich" method of giving criticism is worse than just saying what's up ArmpitHour 2025