Responding to negative feedback
One of the hardest things we face in our professional career is negative feedback. Whether it’s a bad review, being passed over for a role or promotion, or failing a major deliverable the result is typically self-doubt and anxiety.
Negative feedback is an opportunity to reinvent yourself for the better. As one leader would tell me – the people who succeed professionally are those who are able to listen to, assimilate and respond to feedback. And the response can have rapid results: I’ve seen many examples of underperformers transforming to top performers the very next year. They typically used the following practices:
1. Understand the problem. Don’t rely on one perspective. Go and interview other stakeholders (see one-to-one interviews). Ask open questions and keep an open mind. Don’t judge or respond to what you hear, listen!
2. Develop an action plan. Negative feedback often relates to deeply held beliefs and practices that can be difficult to change. Putting a plan in place will help you stay the course.
3. Share your plans and updates with your manager. It’s critical that your manager knows you are taking action, has the opportunity to give input, and fully supports your plan. Without that engagement and alignment, you risk progressing personally and declining professionally.
4. Get help. You need feedback and advice to succeed. I recommend all 3 of these in parallel:
a. Real-time feedback from trusted observers. As an example, I once asked a peer to observe me in leadership meetings and give candid feedback immediately after each one.
b. Mentoring: Make sure that you select someone you respect, that has some knowledge of you and is recognized as highly skilled in your challenge area.
c. Do research: Read articles, ask HR for resources, listen to podcasts. Immersing in your problem will give you the confidence and insights to accelerate your development.
5. Make feedback and growth a mindset. At the heart of reinventing yourself is creating a process to constantly solicit and respond effectively to feedback. If you get angry or defensive, you will fail. If you bounce back from difficult feedback once, you will retain the confidence and knowledge to succeed again and again.
