Handle criticism
Imagine that your boss has just spoken badly of your elaborated documents to the assembled team. One would like to sink into the ground here or roar loudly. Surely you have already experienced one or the other situation. Say: You have been criticized.
Of course, such a pronunciation should not be taken too seriously and personally. After all, it's all about the job and not about feelings. Nevertheless, we react very emotionally and often take defense measures, justify ourselves and completely exclude the possibility of seeing criticism as an opportunity for improvement.
The fact is: you can learn to be critical. We will explain in just a few steps how you can better accept criticism and take advantage of it.
1) Keep calm
The first reaction to bad criticism is crucial. For this reason, you should definitely keep calm instead of going straight to the ceiling or falling into gasping breath from outrage. Take a deep breath or two and wait a few seconds before responding. This reduces stress symptoms in advance and the head automatically becomes clearer.
2) Ask
Start by repeating what your counterpart said to you. So you can clear misunderstandings in advance. At the same time, you can think of an appropriate response.
Ask specifically why you are suddenly criticized and how you can do better in the future. You will also find out by the way whether it is justified and constructive criticism at all. If your counterpart starts to stutter or cannot provide clear answers to your questions, such a criticism should not give you further headaches. Because in this case it is probably not justified.
3) Put yourself in your critic's place
Try to understand the critic's point of view and also make it clear that you respect his opinion. This will relax the situation and signal willingness to cooperate. But that doesn't mean you have to agree with the criticism. You can see it differently. After all, every thing always has at least two sides.
4) Take criticism
When superiors or colleagues criticize, you can either strictly reject them or accept them in a positive way. The second behavior is the right way to respond to criticism. The subject of suboptimal work is not intended to unsettle the recipient, but rather to help him do a better job. So criticism should never be understood as a personal attack, but rather as an aid to improve your own performance.
5) Rate criticism
If criticism of one's own work is practiced, it is important to hear it and evaluate it for yourself. If it is justified, you should not talk yourself out, but admit your wrongdoing, apologize and find ways for yourself so that it will work better in the future. But it may well be that the criticism is unjustified and that you have a good reason for a certain behavior or a special way of working. Your own view of things should be clearly stated in the conversation and, if necessary, rejected unjustified criticism.
6) Obtain feedback
Constructive feedback can help to optimize your own work and achieve better results. It serves to critically examine your own work and, if necessary, to change it. Therefore, you should ask your colleagues and employees to give feedback. This not only testifies to openness to other opinions, but also shows that you can and want to deal with criticism yourself.
7) Check your self-image
In the course of a criticism, it always makes sense to check your self-image and take a close look. After all, if we are not aware of our skills and values, we cannot be convinced of ourselves. So always be a little critical of yourself. Because if you can critically examine your own performance, it is easier to deal with criticism from other people.
Last but not least, in this context you should always keep in mind that criticism is always about things that have already happened and cannot be changed. As a recipient of criticism, you should always refer to the future and not ramble about past mistakes. After all, the point is not to make up for what happened, but to avoid the reason for the criticism. So use criticism to learn and to work more efficiently and better in the future.
These attitudes and views definitely lead to a sovereign and relaxed reaction in the long run. And don't worry if you don't react the way you want the first time. No master has fallen from the sky yet.
