HRGuru

How many times have you received a “not so nice” feedback at work and sulked over it? Well, accepting negative feedback does not come easy to anyone of us. But accept it - you must. And if you think about it, you know that criticism can actually be very beneficial. It can help you understand what you are doing wrong and fix it. It can also help you plan for future ventures in a better manner.

Making criticism work for you depends on the way you take it. You need to take criticism objectively and with the right spirit. But, the question is, “How do I accept negative feedback without any negative feelings?” We have some suggestions that can help you  to not just overcome your fear of criticism but also to use it for personal development.

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  Listen carefully: The main reason for people getting perplexed about feedback is not listening to it properly. As soon as the supervisor starts talking about improvement areas or what went wrong, people just stop listening and start formulating answers. While doing this, you might miss out on critical points and repeat the same mistakes again. So, listen carefully and take down notes, if required.
  
  


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  Don’t let emotions take over: Do not get emotional about the feedback and use your brain to analyse it. Involving your emotions will hamper your ability to objectively consider the value of feedback. Focus on the facts rather than the feelings that they generate within you. Tell yourself however negative the feedback is; it will help you improve and grow.
  
  


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  Don’t be silent or over-defensive: Don’t just be a mute spectator. This will reflect badly on your confidence and feedback-taking abilities. Instead, after listening to what your supervisor has to say, put across your point of view. Ask him/her for clarification if you did not understand something. Tell him/her about why you think things went wrong. But do not go overboard. Try to convert destructive feedback into a constructive outcome by telling your supervisor about how you are going to fix things.
  
  


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  Don’t hold grudges: Remember that your supervisor is just doing his/her job and there is no personal enmity involved. Moreover, the feedback is only going help you figure out your weak areas and improve upon them. Holding grudges for negative feedback is only going to affect you in the long term. So, instead of sulking and blaming your supervisor, thank him/her for the feedback and state that you consider the feedback valuable. This demonstrates your ability to take criticism constructively.
  
  


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  Decide upon corrective actions: After listening to the feedback and analysing it, decide upon the corrective actions that you want to take. Take your supervisor’s inputs, if required. Try to understand why things went wrong and what is it that you can do to fix them or ensure that they don’t happen again.
  
  

 Criticism can definitely be discouraging, but remember that it can be the key to faster growth and better performance. Take criticism positively and see how it opens up the doors of success for you.