Taking Constructive Criticism Like a Champ

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Taking Constructive Criticism Like a Champ

Take constructive criticism like a champ isn’t as easy as it seems. Some people can graciously accept constructive criticism. All while others may struggle and feel overly sensitive. In 3 different ways, you can improve your ability to take constructive criticism like a champ.

Unfortunately, in the heat of the moment, we might over-react with defensiveness or anger and attack the person giving feedback. But the truth is, we need to get over it. We live and work in collaboration with others. Intellectually we know there’s value in constructive criticism—how else would we identify areas of improvement? It helps us maintain relationships and be more successful in everything we do.

So how do you learn to take constructive criticism? The next time you receive useful feedback from your manager or a peer here is a three-step process. Follow these tips to handle the encounter with tact and grace.

1. Don’t Express Your First Reaction

When someone is giving you feedback before you do anything—stop. Try not to react at all! You’ll have at least three seconds to stop your reaction. While three seconds seems insignificant, it’s ample time for your brain to process the situation. At that moment, you can halt a dismissive facial expression. Above all, remind yourself to stay calm.

2. Remember the Benefit of Receiving Feedback – its constructive criticism!

Now, you have a few seconds to quickly remind yourself of the benefits of receiving constructive criticism. You’re improving your skills and leadership capabilities. All to help you meet the expectations that your stakeholders, manager, colleagues, and direct reports have of you. This step may seem challenging at the moment. Get in the habit of reminding yourself of this before you step into a meeting or 1:1. Practice poker face with the person who is delivering the feedback. It can be challenging to receive a different person. An opinion from a co-worker, peer, or someone that you don’t fully respect, but remember: Useful information can come from flawed sources.

3. Say Thank You Like a Champ

Next, look the person in the eye and thank them for sharing feedback with you. Don’t gloss over this—be intentional and say, “I really appreciate you taking the time to talk about this with me.”

Expressing appreciation does not have to mean you’re agreeing with the assessment. It does show that you’re acknowledging the effort. It is the time your colleague took to evaluate you and share his or her thoughts.

Constructive criticism is often the only way we learn about our weaknesses—without it we can’t improve. When we’re defensive, we don’t accepting and gracious. Instead, we run the risk of missing out on this important insight. Remember, feedback is certainly not easy to receive. But it’s also not always easy to give feedback. Being able to be receptive will help you now and in the long run.

Check out our award-winning coaches at the Ignite Your Potential Centers who offer complimentary 25-minute phone sessions to help you take feedback!

We are the #1 career coaches in San Francisco and Los Angeles, let us show you how we earned that praise.

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