Feedback can be one of the greatest tools at your disposal to gauge your professional growth. It highlights where you’re flourishing and where you need to improve. But far too often, emotions can cloud even the most positive conversations between management and team members. Whether your boss bluntly tells you your organizational skills need improvement, or a manager mentions in passing that your communication needs work, receiving feedback can feel vulnerable.
Learning to process feedback productively rather than personally is a crucial skill for every professional. Here are some tips to help you build that mindset.
Pause Before Reacting
Before responding, avoid strong initial reactions to constructive feedback. Giving yourself even a few moments to process what you’ve heard creates a buffer between the words and your emotions. You can’t take back your reaction once it’s out there, so take a moment to collect your thoughts.
Separate Tone From Content
Even if your manager’s tone isn’t ideal, try to extract the useful insight from what was said. This helps you avoid internalizing their tone and focus only on the professional advice being offered.
Ask Clarifying Questions
After pausing and identifying the valuable points, ask questions that give you a clear idea of how to improve. Instead of brushing off their comments, invite your manager to outline a plan for moving forward.
By following this sequence, you can make receiving feedback more within your control than you might think. Even if defensiveness creeps in, remember this is just your job – nothing more, nothing less. Over time, you might learn to welcome feedback to keep you aware of how you’re doing professionally.
