How to get better at receiving feedback
Embracing feedback is a crucial step towards personal and professional growth. Yet, it's often easier said than done. Let's delve into the art of receiving feedback, transforming it from a daunting experience into a constructive tool for improvement.
Feedback is a better teacher than books, academic journal articles, trainings, speeches and even TED Talks
The single best way to grow is to lead and then get feedback
- After you reach a more senior role, people tend to minimize or less-than-positive feedback or don’t want to offer you any constructive criticism at all
- Four steps to get better at receiving feedback
Mention what you’re changing
Listening to feedback alone doesn’t bring about growth; it’s only when feedback is used to figure how to act differently that growth happens
- If you’re going to be making changes as a result of the feedback, share those changes with the person or people who helped you discover what changes to make
Seek out more feedback
When you finish stating what you’ll be changing, ask if you can set a date with that person or group to re-evaluate how the change is going.
- This does two things: it will guarantee more feedback at a later date and it will signal how open you truly are to receiving feedback.
Step 1: Start with thank you
Take time to offer your thanks for the gift you just received – the gift of feedback.
- While feedback is a gift, it’s even more so a risk. When a team member speaks up to offer you feedback, they’re taking a risk with how you’ll respond.
Restate What You Heard
Take the time to restate to the person giving the feedback what you heard them say. Restating their feedback lets them know that their opinion matters and makes it more likely you will get additional feedback in the future from them.
- Checking your own understanding of the message helps you not to take in the wrong lessons, and lets you know you were really listening.