How to Handle Negative Feedback

The Importance of Constructive Criticism in Career Growth

Credit: Author

When our team appreciates our work or applauds us for a job well done, we feel proud, joy and inspired. Having a team that celebrates our wins and keeps us motivated to do even better is key to happiness and long-lasting work satisfaction.

However, to advance in our careers, we need constructive criticism and feedback that help us identify our flaws and imperfections. Our team members who spend a large amount of time working with us are best positioned to give this feedback.

People around us have the ability to observe and evaluate our behavior in various situations. They can notice how we interact with others, handle disagreements, deal with challenges, and perform under time pressure. They may also be able to identify subtle destructive behaviours that we may not be aware of. These behaviors may not be visible to us but are clearly evident to those observing us.

Negative feedback, however good it may be for our growth, is hard to accept. Our default instincts treat negative feedback as a threat which alerts our brain and sends us into a fight or flight mode — we either get defensive and try to prove others wrong or take the feedback personally and completely shut down.

Feedback is even harder to digest when it comes from a team member. When a team member points out gaps in our skills or things we aren’t good at, it’s hard not to retaliate. We want to look good. We want to prove our worth. Negative feedback makes us assume others think we are incompetent and they don’t like us anymore.

Feelings of shame from falling short of expectations or anger from facing the reality of our situation make us avoid negative feedback. Negative emotions discolour our ability to think clearly and prevent us from putting effort in place to bridge gaps in our skills and abilities.

How you respond to negative feedback determines how comfortable your team member feels in giving it. These 6 practices can enable you to embrace negative feedback from your team and channel them into a medium for learning and growth.

Those who handle feedback more fruitfully have an identity story with a…