24 Nov Accepting Feedback From Others
“You Deserve To Live An Extraordinary Life!”
Today we will continue to explore the five key skills necessary for communicating like a Navigator: 1) Knowing what conversation you are really having; 2) Listening Well; 3) Straight Talk; 4) Accepting Feedback; 5) Making No Assumptions. Today’s post will discuss the importance of Accepting Feedback.
Most people don’t like feedback. Let me be even clearer: most people detest feedback. We get caught up in our own way of seeing things and often resist hearing anything that contradicts our viewpoint. It often comes across as critical, judgmental, and negative. Feelings get hurt, walls go up, and communication breaks down! It is truly an art to deliver and receive feedback from others.
You can learn a lot from constructive feedback. Recognizing that you have a limited point of view—we all do—can help you become more open to others’ feedback. For example, imagine that one of your business associates confronts you about your behavior during an earlier encounter and says something like the following:
“You may not like what I am going to say, but I want to give you some feedback about how you responded to what our team was saying to us. In my view, you reacted with anger and impatience when they expressed concern about our decision to postpone the new marketing initiative. I know you probably didn’t mean to communicate this, but you came across as defensive and argumentative. Are you aware of the negative impact that may have had on the discussion? Did you notice that our team shut down and stopped communication?”
How would you respond? What do you think would be the most constructive way to handle this? Navigators for Success take into consideration how difficult it can be to deliver and receive feedback. Take some time to reflect on the following:
- Do you listen and remain open to feedback?
- Do you tend to argue about what you’re hearing?
- Do you acknowledge what you are hearing and try to find ways to re-open discussion?
- Feedback may be uncomfortable to hear. But it can be very valuable in helping you to notice, and possibly correct, unproductive behavior. Try to rise above your defensive reactions and better accept and tolerate others’ feedback.
Perhaps the next time you are in a position to offer or accept feedback, the ideas and questions posed here will pay off for you! If you’d like to read more, check out my book “Navigating for Success.”