How to Receive Feedback to Help You Thrive
Dr Gemma Leigh Roberts
Chartered Psychologist (Wellbeing, Resilience, Mindset) // Podcast Host: Psychology in the Wild // 6M Learners Worldwide (@LinkedIn Learning)
In my last newsletter, I focused on how to give feedback with compassion and consideration and it was great to read your comments on the topic. Thank you for sharing them.?
Today, I’m going to share my tips on how to receive feedback with an open mind, a rational reaction and a positive plan for development.
Part 2. How to receive feedback to help you thrive
We all have areas we can develop on. However, for most of us, receiving feedback can sometimes feel uncomfortable. It can seem like someone is simply pointing out your flaws or failings, but what if we were to shift our mindset here? What if we considered feedback an opportunity to continue on our development journey? We can learn to switch our thinking away from fixating on the negatives towards finding opportunities in feedback.
Everyone has development areas, makes mistakes at times, and can all improve something. It’s what you do with that feedback that’s important.
Mindset + Reaction = Outcome
We’ve all been in a situation where you’ve had a bad day, things just aren’t going your way, and you get unfavourable feedback from a colleague or a client. When you’re in a negative mindset, it’s easy to react with anger or disappointment, which can affect your work, relationships and mood for the rest of the day.?
Now, imagine that you’re having the best day. You’ve just been given some good news, the sun is shining, your favourite song is playing, and you’re singing along. You’re in a good mood. That same negative feedback lands, and you’re a bit miffed but decide not to dwell on the situation and focus on the positives in your life.?
Your thoughts and feelings create the story you tell yourself.
So when someone offers you what they think is constructive advice, depending on your mindset at the time, you could either:?
The trick is to appreciate feedback and use it constructively without fixating on it.
Remember, it's one person's opinion. And even if a few people say the same thing and it's less than favourable - that's ok. You can learn to take control of how you respond and react to feedback, even if the feedback isn't what you want to hear. How can you do this?
→ Take a step back
Take your time to process the information. If you're feeling a bit low, try not to think about the feedback immediately (if that's an option). Instead, ensure the other person knows you will take the feedback on board, but you'll need time to process it.
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→ Don't fixate on negative feedback
Or positive, for that matter - an overly positive view of yourself isn't realistic and may cause a blind spot.?
Take a balanced view, looking at the feedback from all angles to gain a rounded perspective.
→ Separate opinion and fact
Opinions can be insightful, but that is one person's point of view - someone else may think entirely differently.?
Focus on the facts, and practice taking feedback on board, but understand these opinions can change and are not factual.
→ And finally, create a forward focus
It's so helpful to know how you can improve on past performance or behaviour, but don't dwell on that.?
Use that information to change how you react, behave and think in the future, creating an opportunity to deal with situations better, improve performance and build stronger relationships. This will help you to create a continuous development mindset.
The next time you receive feedback, use these steps to help you create a continuous improvement mindset.?
I'd love to hear your experiences in the comments about how you've taken feedback constructively to help you grow professionally and personally.
For more insights, tips and tricks on mindset, resilience and wellbeing:
Airport Operations Duty Officer-DMAA BS-Aviation-Air Transportation Administration University of Nebraska at Omaha Aviation Institute Diversity In Aviation Ally/Working towards management and leadership
1 年I would like to see some practical workshops or role play on the topic of eliciting feedback or creating feedback loops. That is a theory that sound easy enough and beneficial but challenging on how to set it up.
YouTube Video Promoter and Digital Marketer
1 年Hi I am Mala , I am a youtube promoter, I was at times a Top Rated seller on Fiverr, I have completed 1500 + youtube marketing jobs successfully. I hope I can be satisfied with my work. your content is my favorite, if you want please let me know-?https://www.fiverr.com/s/DE9Z6N
Executive Assistant @ AWS | Creative Tools | Business Administration, Strategic Coordination
1 年It’s such a great reminder to separate fact from opinion. Don’t internalize feedback. Value feedback but take what matters to you to help you grow.
Director @ Smileydigita.com | Lead Generation Specialist | Helping B2B Businesses Scale with Automated Outbound Solutions
1 年Divisional Manager | Supplying Virtual Assistants to Businesses
1 年Great article! Receiving feedback is a valuable opportunity for growth and improvement. Approaching feedback with an open mind, curiosity, and a growth-oriented mindset can help us extract valuable insights. Actively listening, asking clarifying questions, and seeking specific examples can enhance our understanding and application of feedback. Embracing feedback as a gift, rather than as a personal attack, allows us to thrive and continually develop our skills.