There are only three of them.
Denial. The person says, “No, I don’t agree, in fact everything is fine.”
Ignoring. The person simply doesn’t pay attention to what is being said.
Making claims in response. The person says, “How many times can I do this, I’ve worked so hard, and I’m not satisfied again.” This is how he devalues the author of the feedback and brightens up the mistake with other achievements.
In all these scenarios, the person avoids dealing with feedback. But this leads to stagnation. When you deny, ignore or criticise back, you lose qualifications, give up on development and damage relationships with colleagues and loved ones. If you feel like you’re going through these scenarios, stop and try to step out.
How to turn criticism to your advantage
I am convinced that constructive criticism moves the world. Therefore, it should be treated with gratitude. A person spent time, found mistakes, showed them, helped to improve the project. He did well, thank him. If people did not criticise each other’s work, there would be no good products.
How do you respond to feedback in a way that’s useful? Here are four steps:
Listen carefully.
Ask clarifying questions.
Draw conclusions, share them with the other party.
If the conclusions are significant, share them with colleagues. This can be helpful for team development.
There are times when criticism is hard to take. It hurts, tears come. This reaction is normal, we are alive and vulnerable. In this case, the mantra helps: “It’s not my mistake, all people make mistakes. It doesn’t make me worse.”
