I don't think "I would have gone about the topic differently, but you’re doing fine" is a growth opportunity. It just has something of an ambiguously negative v

I don't think "I would have gone about the topic differently, but you’re doing fine" is a growth opportunity. It just has something of an ambiguously negative vibe without actually saying what it's about, while also kind of saying something superficially positive without making it easy to tell if it's genuine. That kind of ambivalence can be mentally disorienting. Also, if you're consistently not on the same page with someone, or are even consistently in bad terms with them, you tend to keep some distance at least emotionally. If you are, on the other hand, (mostly) consistently on good terms with someone and end up being closer, most of the interaction is probably going to be positive -- even if that sometimes includes constructive criticism. (Good constructive criticism is probably not really ambivalent either; there might be clear good and clear bad things, with an overall feeling of both people having the other's best interest in mind.) Either way, you know what to expect: you can protect yourself from negativity by keeping your distance, or you can expect mostly positive experiences with someone who you let closer. Inconsistently positive and negative means you don't know whether to keep your guard up or down.