LEADERS TREAT CRICISM WISELY

Last week I wrote about how good leaders will accept constructive criticism from team members, especially from new team members who may have a new perspective on things. Often listening to teammates with fresh perspectives can help us in our quests to be more effective leaders.
Coincidentally, this week I happened to come across an article on this same subject. This was a blog post written by Steve Keating. Steve has more than 30 years of leadership and his blog is titled “Lead Today.” I highly recommend it.

In his post, Steve admits that when he was a young leader, he used to primarily ignore criticism and allowed the criticism to adversely affect his attitude toward the person offering it. Steve’s mentor taught him that he had options for dealing with criticism, including the option he eventually chose to adopt: accepting all criticism as constructive criticism, regardless of who delivered it or how it was delivered.
Steve learned not to instinctively reject criticism. Many young leaders automatically reject criticism because:

-They are not used to being criticized
-Their egos do not allow them to consider the criticism as potentially valid
-They are afraid to look in the mirror to determine if the criticism may have some validity because their self-image is too fragile

As Steve articulates, we can consider someone’s criticism, then decide if it is valid, and if we conclude that it is, can determine what actions we will take to address it.

In his blog post, Steve offers several strategies for making criticism work for you as a leader, turning it into a tool for leadership growth:

-Shift Your Mindset – See Criticism as Opportunity: In coaching, we talk about shifting mindsets all the time. While younger or defensive leaders may see criticism as a personal attack, more seasoned leaders can view it as a chance to look in the mirror and assess how other people observe them at work, whether in meetings, on Zoom, or during in-person conversations.

We can ask ourselves the question: “What Can I Learn From This?” This takes practice and humility. Often younger leaders must exhibit a significant mind shift to explore the answers to this powerful question.

We can use the mindset of practicing gratitude. I have written about the power of gratitude frequently here, and I will do so again. When we thank the people offering us criticism, we often can disarm them, and they will think more highly of us as we acknowledge them.

-Separate Emotion from Insight: Rightly, Steve advises that emotions can cloud some valuable insights contained within a team member’s criticism. To benefit from criticism, we must put our emotions in the parking lot and process our feelings before we dive into the content of the criticism.

To do this, we can focus on the message being delivered, ignoring the other person’s tone of voice or volume. If this is hard to do in the moment, we can take a break and give ourselves time to cool down until after our powerful emotions abate.

-Evaluate the Source and the Content: Steve makes a wonderful point in stating that “not all criticism is created equal.” We need to assess who is offering the criticism and why they are doing it. Does the person possess expertise, wisdom and particular experience? If so, we can consider their comments more carefully.

In reviewing the content of the criticism, we can pay attention to the specifics. If the criticism is general, we can ask the other person for examples. The more examples they can provide, the more valuable their criticism can be for us.

-Act on the Feedback: Steve reminds us that “criticism without action is just noise.” Once we have identified the meaningful parts of the criticism, we are motivated to construct an action plan to address those elements. Like other aspects of leadership, we can create our plan by identifying sequential steps and then track our progress in following or implementing those steps.

Planning includes creating specific goals, identifying helpful resources like books or podcasts, and looking into potential professional development courses or webinars.

Acting on the feedback includes following up with the person who originally offered us the critique. We can check back with him or her and show them that we are taking their comments seriously.

-Build Resilience Through Repetition: Like all other leadership skills, we improve on responding to criticism with practice. The more we practice this skill, the better we will be at it. For many of us, it will require significant practice and repetition because it means shifting an important mindset.

Like with all leadership habits, we can start small – by practicing accepting minor feedback and then improve at it by engaging in one of our most important practices – reflection. We can reflect on how well we are doing by journaling, by speaking with a trusted confidante and by making time to look in the mirror to gauge our self-awareness.

Finally, please follow Steve’s advice to make criticism your ally because, as he writes, “criticism can be a powerful engine for personal growth…the path to improvement is paved with the feedback we choose to embrace!”

If you believe this content would resonate with a friend or colleague, please feel free to forward it along!

-Larry