Communication, Integration, & Reciprocation: How to Manage Constructive Criticism as an Individual and as a Company, Part I
March 25, 2010
Learning how to receive constructive criticism is an integral skill for all individuals to possess.
Annual reviews often cause anxiety as employees and management teams must think about how the job is going, how successful we have been, where we have fallen short, and how to improve going forward. Reviews are not meant to hurt feelings. During the review process, we worry about how we did and how our peers and management teams think we did; many people find it difficult to deal with any kind of criticism of their performance. Nonetheless, a review is not a negative activity. The reality is that a review is an opportunity for improvement and change. The first step in managing the constructive criticism of reviews is to discuss the results with your management teams and peers Have an open dialog on what you feel your top 3 areas for improvement are and then create a plan to execute on improving in those areas.
Having open communication with your reviewers will help make the entire process more valuable. I will discuss more on the communication in a future blog.