How do you deal with pushback when publishing thought leadership?

If you publish your opinions about a topic, at some point you're bound to get pushback. When facing pushback on thought leadership, it's crucial to be open-minded, patient, and respectful. You should welcome criticism as an opportunity to refine your ideas and engage in fruitful discussions. Rather than get defensive, the best way forward is to address concerns directly and constructively, acknowledging different perspectives. Remember, not everyone will agree with your viewpoint. Being resilient, maintaining your integrity, and focusing on providing value will help navigate any pushback effectively!

When I get thoughtful yet critical feedback, I always thank them for it and then I go into curiosity mode to explore where their take came from or to give how I am interpreting it. My goal is to start a discussion. When the negative feedback is more adversarial, I'll make a judgment call on how important it is to respond and how.

Thought leadership in its truest sense should bring a heightened sense of awareness to the corresponding thoughts of the reader or those listening. Moving a perspective or a position of others, while not always necessary, can elicit a reactive response. This also requires the leader calmly look at the perspective and points the other is presenting. Seek first to understand. This allows for a professional response. Acknowledge and thank them for their perspective. Seeing from another's perspective can greatly enhance the ability to advance the thought leadership. Through analyzing the arguments within the leading thought variables, it invariably strengthens position. If a person agrees, ask how it can be applied in their life!

When I acknowledge feedback I do so from 2 perspectives. Personal and professional. I separate these 2 in my mind. It reminds me that my personal feeling are in play and that I also have also have a bigger responsibility to those around me. It allows me to judge what I am being told in a more balanced way with a little less ego :) This also helps me dispassionately understand the nature of the feedback. Some feedback is a useful part of the process and some is about the human dynamics. People often compete through the exchange of ideas. All of it should be acknowledged - even the unworthy elements. As a leader you have a duty and opportunity to the role to be the best version of yourself.

My "pushback" to this article relates to the word "pushback" in the headline. My most recent content position was extremely collaborative, where I would interview 20 or 30 SMEs on a topic and craft content from their responses. All were given the opportunity to review drafts; and I looked at it as feedback, not pushback. Feedback related to style was easily dealt with, since we had a style guide (so, an SMEs strong opinions about the Oxford comma, for example, didn't matter). Feedback related to facts was also relatively easy to deal with, with follow up questions and additional research. Feedback related to tone and voice was the most robust, since I was taking several points of view and melding them into a cohesive narrative.

I look at feedback in 3 ways 1) Accept and make the change. 2) Understand it and resolve why I won't be using it in this case. 3) Dismiss and understand why it's not valid. Depending on how they shared it will temper how I respond or if I do.

All feedback is a gift. To derive the greatest value from any feedback, we need to remain detached, especially when it is critical. If not, we will likely miss finding the gift that buried beneath rough exterior. Here are three practices I use when receiving any feedback: 1. Separate the message from the messenger. Strip away any sender information and batch it anonymously with all the other feedback. 2. Refrain from evaluating any feedback (good or bad) as soon as it is received. Time adds perspective and gaining the proper perspective is essential to getting the most from feedback. 3. Remember feedback is a gift the must be carefully opened to find out what is inside.

When I facilitate conflict resolution for organizations to increase positive communication, there is one principle that stands before all others. Respond, don't react. Perspective/personality should be explored. Open objectivity - removing the emotional aspect of being tied to your own thought - must be exercised to refine the position. What does this person present that I might not have considered? And how can I successfully communicate with this person? While applicable in a few instances, conflict avoidance is rarely anything other than a lose-lose situation. One can always politely acknowledge their thoughts, agree to disagree and thank them for their input. Thought leadership is such that trust and respect be ever present.

Assuming it is a constructive discussion, I always respond with an intent to listen, learn, and adapt or make my case for what I am trying to share or influence. At the end of the day, thought leadership is about learning and influencing the most important topics of the day.

Again, respond, don't react. If you are a thought leader, you should be able to think critically, constructively and creatively to address the feedback you've received. Relationships are built on trust and respect. Even if you don't know the person to whom you are responding, ensure that you are living in integrity and respond accordingly. How you do one thing is how you do everything.

Some of my greatest learning has come from someone shooting holes in my thoughts and ideas. I am coming from my perspective, my personality, my experiences and how I view the world. As I've grown in education and experience, I am able to confidently incorporate others' perspectives, personality styles and world views. As a thought leader, this is critical. When advocating for what you think is the best position, process or plan of action, considering the perspective of others can only serve to make your thought leadership more robust. Asking for input allows you to make more meaningful connections, build stronger relationships and reinforce integrity in thought and actions. That is leadership worth listening to.

One must adapt to connect. In facilitation, participants learn to become more self aware through understanding their own personality and associated styles. Only then can they begin to understand how others think and prefer to act. We come from each person's "normal" perspective. It is quickly evident - our "normal" is different. The act of positively communicating is contingent upon understanding the perception and perspective of those involved in a situation. The more you can adapt, the better you can connect. Use feedback as a lifeline to new understanding. Rather than becoming defensive to feedback, remain open to the hidden gifts it can bring. New perspectives, stronger relationships, perhaps even a blue ocean strategy!

It depends on how thoughtful the other party is when they challenge. The Internet is forever with screenshots. I would open up questions for people who disagree. A question like "Tell me more" or "Help me understand why" helps me self-reflect and understand the other party better. Then the conversation could go deeper or time to walk away when you feel attacked. No point arguing with strangers online. Especially when you don't see their real profile, they have nothing to lose. Thought leadership can be hard when you are calling out things that many people are not impacted by. Thought leadership is advocating for people who are not privileged to call things out. This is why you are a thought leader. Use that wisely to make a change & impact

Audit Feedback. ??You must be assess whether feedback is for you. While people of all titles desire to give feedback that is helpful, not all individuals have the same understanding and insight as the writer. It is important to consider who is giving feedback, their SME and intent. By example, lots of people can give feedback on how to "coach" managers, but do they have the insight on how to give feedback to a manager in a k-12 school, a PM in India SDE in Japan, a man managing a woman or a White individual managing a Black woman? Consider their perspective and if it "adds value" to your position, offers thoughtful question or pushes you to consider a point not raised. ?? Audit feedback in a way that uplifts you and your ideas.