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Tips to Help You Accept and Use Criticism for Your Benefit

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performance review

Summary: When harsh criticism is thrown your way, use these tips to help you take the criticism for what it is and improve your performance so that it doesn’t happen again.

You just received a request from your boss for a brief meeting sometime this week. The request is not regular so you can’t help but immediately dread the meeting. You assume the meeting is to criticize you for doing something wrong, not doing something at all, or making someone mad. Whatever the purpose of the meeting, you doubt it is to reward you.

Taking criticism on any level can be difficult. Receiving criticism can be easier depending on how you decide to respond. You can view it as scolding or form of verbal punishment or you can take it as a sign that you are trying and have room for improvement. If you are not receiving feedback then you aren’t doing enough.

– Everyone is bound to make a mistake at some point. A mature and successful individual will use their mistakes as a chance to improve.

– Apologizing for a mistake is useless unless you provide a solution to it. If you are regularly missing deadlines, which are affecting others down the line, then make a plan that you can present to your boss about how you keep up with deadlines. Try looking at your calendar and to-do list to find a better way of prioritizing your responsibilities. Explain to your boss that if you are going to miss a deadline again, you will notify them as soon as possible.

– Take time to process what has been said to you. Often, you are so busy absorbing the criticism that you aren’t able to come up with quality questions on how you can improve. Your mind draws a blank when it should be forming ideas on how to approach your performance. Ask to meet again the next day or sometime that week so that you can take time to process the feedback and take notes on any ideas or questions you want to ask.

– Don’t ever approach the situation defensively. Having an attitude will not help you or get you anywhere with your boss. Taking the side of humility will help you stay calm and accept the feedback for what it is – a way for you to improve.

To learn more about how to improve your performance, read these articles:

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Tips to Help You Accept and Use Criticism for Your Benefit by
Authored by: Amanda Griffin