Embracing Criticism at Work

How to use feedback as your fuel to improve

We have all experienced, or will experience, some kind of professional feedback at least once in our lives.

And while praise can feel good and instil a sense of value and appreciation, criticism is just as beneficial in contributing to our growth journey. It’s also just as inevitable as praise, as human nature means mistakes can happen. If we were all perfect, managers would be out of a job.

A healthy mindset and approach to criticism is crucial in order to hear a message of value and preparing for these conversations can be a powerful training tool, both for the deliverer and receiver.

A few years ago I received feedback from a colleague after a particularly difficult meeting with a client. It was at a workplace that fostered positive, constructive criticism.

Firstly he asked my permission to deliver feedback on my performance, and if so, was I happy to have the conversation on my shared desk area or private room.

I think this is crucial because by agreeing, I felt in control of the situation.

“You were nervous this morning and hesitant in what you were saying. It made you appear less confident. My advice to you would be to consciously think about slowing down in uncomfortable situations. If you pause, let the quiet be quiet and remember to breathe. It’s better to take your time to think so you are clearly understood.”

Now, granted that this example isn’t ‘career-changing’ feedback nor is it deep-cutting criticism, but for me in my early twenties, new to a company and client-facing role, it was an important message and one that I have remembered ever since. Now, if I am ever nervous, I tell myself to breathe and slow down.

It also isn’t a memory I associate with hurt or failure. It was constructive and gave me the opportunity to improve and the direction on how to do it.

I had the chance to expand my skills and professional image because of criticism.

Now while my story is positive and offered me steps on how to improve, there are many that are not. Professional feedback sits on a fine line and, when in a leadership position, it’s important to think carefully on how to deliver it thoughtfully.

A broader aspect to consider is also the importance of nurturing a workplace culture that supports these types of conversations. With many of us so immersed in our careers and professional journey, there can be little time to think about our own performance objectively and the ways to improve it. And so companies that don’t nurture a constructive feedback culture ultimately refuse their employees exposure to a fresh perspective; a perspective which can produce learning, encourage self-development and keep employees engaged and motivated at work.

Why is it hard for a company to create a safe space for criticism, to embed it constructively into their cultural DNA, just as much as they do praise?

Is it even possible?

Why Do We Not Like Criticism?

Winston Churchill famously said: “Criticism may not be agreeable, but it is necessary. It fulfils the same function as pain in the human body; it calls attention to the development of an unhealthy state of things.”

In other words, criticism can sting but it can help you to improve and be better.

Yet applying this to the workplace is not such a simple concept.

Research suggests that managers intentionally sugar-coat negative feedback to avoid conflict.

Known as ‘feedback inflation’, it gives the illusion of transparency i.e. you believe your own inner dialogue to be more apparent than it really is, resulting in less effort to actually communicate the message with clarity.

Similarly, employees both crave and dislike negative feedback from their managers. In the same way they want to understand ways to improve, often when it is delivered the reaction can be one of defence and upset.

So when can negative feedback feel like a personal attack?

• Poorly-framed, feedback can feel like a finger pointing directly at your character rather than the issue at hand.
• It can make you feel inferior if delivered aggressively or in a condescending tone.
• It can tap into the underlying fear that you are underperforming, particularly if the criticism isn’t coupled with suggestions on how to improve.
• It can feel like defeat.

Is there a way to enjoy criticism?

Criticism is everywhere. By nature it is inescapable because it is a product of almost everything we do or don’t do.

Adam Grant discusses this at length on his podcast. He wants to know if we can learn to like criticism.

He interviews Ray Dalio, founder of Bridgewater Associates who famously runs his company with complete, radical transparency. Criticism is out in the open, to extreme lengths.

Ray wanted to create a culture where people could have disagreements and controversial discussions without any problems. His goal was to dissolve office politics by embedding the delivery of hard truths into the day-to-day culture. According to Ray, when you reach this level of normalisation and eliminate pain from criticism, you get astounding results from employees.

But unsurprisingly, this culture invited controversy and anger, with employees reporting the workplace to be ‘a cauldron of fear and intimidation’.

So where do you draw the line to strike the right balance?

In his podcast, Adam and Ray discuss an interesting concept known as the ‘Second Score’. In short, it explains an awareness of how you want to appear to others.

Your first score is something you have already been judged on, the score that initially invites the criticism. It is out of your control as it’s already happened.

Your second score is how well you received the first score — aka the criticism — on board.

If I use my example from earlier, it can be largely broken down like so:

1. My first score was my performance in the client meeting. I was nervous and didn’t articulate myself clearly. I was, in that moment, judged by my colleague and client. Say, for arguments sake, I scored a C.

2. My second score was my reaction to the feedback given to me by my colleague afterwards. I was open, understanding and inquisitive to how I could improve. I was judged on this score just as much as the first. I scored an A.

By reflecting on both of my scores, and absorbing the feedback positively, I am able to walk away from the scenario feeling better and empowered to improve next time.

The Benefits of Embracing Negative Feedback

If criticism is delivered with good intention, then it can be hugely beneficial to the individual. It can offer a fresh perspective on our performance and encourage us to seek out ways to improve and develop ourselves with a positive mindset.

Similarly, your Second Score reminds you to reflect on how your behaviour appears to others. It encourages you to step back and widen the lens. By doing so, you stop focusing on the negative and instead concentrate on how much you can learn from feedback, using it as your fuel to ace your next challenge.

When it is given a chance to exist in a safe environment, constructive feedback can be a great tool to invite change and offer your employees an opportunity to grow. You don’t need to be radical like Ray, but by nurturing an open feedback culture you can, by extension, nurture employees growth and professional development.