PV - Negative Feedback

By John R. Nocero & Sandy Abell

JRN: Sandy, According to Manson (2021), an unfortunate fact of life is that you will receive a lot of negative feedback from others in proportion to the audacity of your goals. Think haters. The more ambitious and unconventional your aims, the more people will try to deter you, tear you down or criticize you.

It is easy for me to sit here and say that it should not happen, but actually it should. I posted a quote in my Linkedin feed over the past week from Paul Levesque, who said, “I think that if you go through life, and no one hates you, then that means you’re not good at anything.

“Many times people want to be safe. It is hard to be risky; even harder to go out on your own with an idea that you think is correct, even though everyone else doubts you. Always remember, you can have a great idea, and you may have pitched it to the wrong person. Just because they hated your idea doesn’t mean it is a bad idea. It means that you challenged their way of thinking – and when someone comes along with a big, especially bold, and even more audacious idea that challenges the status quo, it is almost instinctive for people to say why it won’t work, albeit through direct challenge or public criticism.

If you as a leader cannot stand people debating your idea, maybe it is better off being left alone. But I will also argue that this criticism forces you to have a deep conviction as to what you are doing, forcing you to look at it from all sides, making it air-tight and willing to stand up to the criticism. Go public.

Sandy, thoughts?

Sandy: Interesting topic John. I’m not sure I fully agree with Paul Levesque, that people have to hate (that’s such a strong word) to prove you’re good at something. People can dislike your ideas, or even your actions, but hate isn’t necessary. I do agree that when you are acting and making things happen, some people will probably disagree. As you said, you might be rocking their comfort zone, and many people don’t want to disrupt their routine.

I also agree that if you really believe in something you need to move ahead and do what you can to make it happen. There are innumerable inventions that we take for granted today (the airplane, cars, refrigerators ,electricity, all technology, etc.), that exist because somebody challenged the status quo and said, “there must be a better way to do this”. They then moved ahead and found the way, despite the objections and negativity thrown at them by others.

The people who are innovative are willing to break out of their comfort zone and take risks. One of the qualities of a good leader is the ability to look ahead, have vision for where you want your team to go, and then support them as you move ahead together. Wise leaders are willing to listen to the thoughts of others, but then have the strength and courage to take that information and make decisions that move you ahead.