Back in December, at a Mid-Atlantic leadership conference, the topic at hand was “Reviews and Feedback Culture.” From there, it was decided that they would challenge the Northeast to a year long Review Showdown. The very next day, a representative issued the challenge to Io Hughto, RC of the Northeast at the NE Regional Conference.

(Ahem, I issued that challenge over Slack DURING our conference. -edb)

The challenge is simple. Over the course of the year, judges will write reviews. At the end of the year, whichever region wrote fewer reviews (Northeast -edb) will provide swag – in the form of pens, notebooks or some other handy accessory – to the winning (Mid-Atlantic -edb) region.

Now, while quantity is a quality all of its own (shocking, a Mid-Atlantic judge! -edb), the regional leadership also wants to promote well written and thought-out reviews. To that end, four arbiters have been selected to highlight well written reviews and provide additional recognition and praise for some of the judges who provide the best feedback. Representing the Mid-Atlantic, former Program Coordinator, GP Head Judge, and leader of The Feedback Loop, Riki Hayashi, and JCC member and current leader of The Feedback Loop, Eric Dustin Brown. Representing the Northeast, Jonah Kellman and Megan Linscott (yeah, we don’t have all the fancy titles, but we don’t need them).

While the whole system isn’t written in stone, there may be incentives to help break particular stigmas and rewards for positive behavior. Judges should be comfortable reviewing up, and it’s great to review the same judge multiple times over the course of a year (or years! Legacy Feedback, coming soon to a blog near you! -edb) to help document and track their progression.

The Regional Coordinators of the two regions, Io Hughto and Nicholas Sabin have brought us their own words:

“I’ve yet to meet anyone who just ‘gets’ judging and everything that entails. Our entire lives are about learning and growth. This whole journey simply can’t happen alone. We need each other so we can learn things together, grow, become better judges, and become better people.

When I was challenged with this, all I could think about was how great this idea was. We found a way to gamify becoming better.

Let’s all get better together. Also, let’s all show the Mid-Atlantic just how much better-er we will be than them.”

“Feedback is a cultural pillar of the Mid-Atlantic. Here, we invest in one another and we help each other grow. We share in each other’s successes, and a big part of that is the work we do in providing feedback, praise, and constructive criticism to one another. I’m thrilled to participate in this challenge and hope to inspire my region’s judges to show to the entire program what I already know as fact: in the Mid-Atlantic, we know how important reviews are, and we know how to use those reviews to encourage growth in our peers. I look forward to receiving Hughto’s concession at the end of the year.”

A Review Showdown is just limited to the large scale clash of regions. If you’re the leader of a local area, challenge your neighbors. If you’re not, challenge them anyways! Challenge your friends, your peers and your mentors! (It’s a great thing to do with your Accoubtabilibuddy! -edb)

You don’t have to put anything on the line, because really, what matters more than bragging rights?

(At the time of publication the current review count is 14 for the Mid-Atlantic and 12 for the Northeast. I know it’s early but I’m gonna go ahead and start working on a logo for all those pens coming our way courtesy of our friends up the coast. -edb)