Constructive Criticism– How Handling It The Right Way Will Improve Your Career

Feedback and constructive criticism are a consistent part of working and everyday life, it is what drives some to work harder and achieve their goals, or for others, it can be a step back and create a sense of negativity.

Constructive feedback is considered an important insight and life skill that should be used as a tool to help you know how to progress and improve on a task; learning how to use it to your advantage will only strengthen your career path.

Giving constructive feedback can sometimes be interpreted as negative feedback, depending on the delivery, tone and manner in which the person shares their thoughts. Constructive criticism can be defined as providing helpful and important insights into a specific or set of issues, typically suggesting a positive change or impact that can result from the change. Though negative feedback can highlight important insights but has a hurtful effect on your self-esteem and pride, which can lead to worsened results on your work product.

To further demonstrate the differences, a possible real-life specific example of when a statement is considered to be destructive feedback instead of constructive criticism may be:

Notice in this negative feedback there is no mention of a possible solution, instead it is purely critiquing the individual and enforcing a negative tone, this scenario would clearly lead to heightened emotion and create avoidable stress in the work environment. If this statement were altered to be constructive feedback it would be more along the lines of:

Not only does this constructive message feel less intimidating, but it offers possible solutions whilst still providing the important insight that the individual needs to hear; a statement like this is what helps people to learn and grow from mistakes which only better their future.

Even if you accept constructive remarks gracefully, it is important to form an understanding of this skill, and learn how you can use constructive criticism to help benefit your current job position and career goals through the six-step process.

Receiving feedback is unavoidable throughout your career; therefore it is of value to start learning how you can approach constructive remarks in a positive way. Constructive criticism is the key to self-improvement, and thus by learning from critique and feedback, you will discover how to not make those same mistakes again.

Many career development experts believe this type of productive dialogue can provide you with a competitive edge and an advantage over others in your industry when you’ve received specific feedback on how you and your organisation can improve. Constructive dialogue also forces you to think about your work product and avoid a negative outcome in the future. Whilst a performance review or critique can be uncomfortable to listen to, use the information to guide you towards more efficient and better practises.

The most important thing to remember is that you should not take constructive criticism personally, it is a learning tool that if handled wisely, can improve your work practises, leading to a stronger career.

There will always be occasions when a co-worker shares their complete thoughts and you are unable to hide your facial expression; but despite your reaction, use the six-step process for handling constructive criticism as not only will it improve a singular task, but will also benefit your future career.