How important do you think constructive criticism is in the workplace? Well, depending on your viewpoint, it can have a very real impact on a team member's personal development. Gallup polls show that just over 10% of employees receiving negative feedback feel engaged in their work afterwards, although this has a lot to do with how that feedback was provided.
Why Is Feedback To Employees So Important?
However, what this does NOT suggest is that negative feedback should be avoided completely. You see, without feedback, both good and bad, how can someone know how they're truly performing? As such, you should be open to criticism - so long as it's respectful and provided in good faith. Awareness of your current abilities and performance is key when looking to grow as a professional.
How Do You Accept Feedback In A Positive Way?
If you want to succeed as a professional in the 21st century, constructive feedback is part and parcel of life. It's vital, too, as understanding what you're doing well and, perhaps, not so well is the only way you're going to improve your technical and interpersonal skills. If you don't accept helpful criticism with grace, it's going to be hard for you to develop.
Most types of criticism you get at work are going to relate to the work you do, although when it gets personal or intertwined with malice, that's when you know it's gone too far. Politeness is key.
Feedback Can Be Very Valuable
As online learning in staff development will show you, constructive feedback should always be welcome, as it's actually a valuable resource. The person providing the feedback is doing you a favour by pointing it out, so it really doesn't pay to get defensive. No one is perfect and can be critiqued, so you shouldn't feel like it's a personal attack.
It's not about bashing you or undermining your work, rather it's aimed at helping you improve and become the professional you want to be. People pay for this kind of feedback from career coaches, so if you change your perspective slightly, it's not a bad thing at all.
Why Not Try Critiquing Yourself?
A great exercise that can provide you with lots of valuable perspectives is to critique yourself. Place yourself in the position of the person providing feedback using yourself as the subject. Be professional and polite in what you write about yourself, as well as include notes on how you might be able to improve these aspects for the better.
Carrying this out will not only give you some food for thought on your next steps but will also provide insight into how tricky it can be to give this kind of feedback as a boss. This knowledge might then make it easier to take constructive feedback in good faith.
Get Your Co-Workers Involved?
Depending on the relationship you have with your current co-workers, you may even be able to enlist their help in making use of feedback. If they share your desire to improve as professionals, you could perhaps take turns in providing feedback to each other - all in line with the guidelines set down for managers carrying out performance reviews.
Being proactive in this way will condition you to receive both good and bad feedback in the right way and can actually lead to you becoming hungry for ways to improve. Continuous learning and work on personal development is something the most successful business people do, so why be different?
Short Courses Online - Your Key To Professional Success
Openness to feedback is one of many interpersonal skills you'll need to be a success as a modern professional. The great news is that if your skills need some work, video-based, CPD-accredited online learning from OCA is available to assist you on your journey. Featuring content created with the help of top industry experts, our modular courses make light work of even weighty topics.
Courses like our Develop Your Interpersonal Skills Certificate are considered by our students to represent the best online education Australia has to offer due to how engaging and easy to fit around your obligations it is. Take a moment to watch our Student Study Demo, and you'll see exactly what we mean by a next-level learning experience.
To find out more about what sets us apart from the rest, visit us today at www.onlinecoursesaustralia.edu.au where you'll see our full course library (covering 20+ industries) with 1-to-1 mentoring for every student, as well as flexible payment options that make our already cost-effective training even more affordable.
Alternatively, to have your questions answered prior to enrolment, just call 1300 611 404 or email support@onlinecourses.com.au. The moment we receive your enquiry, we'll strive to answer you as quickly as we can.
Read similar articles
Or continue to the blog homepage
