How to handle constructive criticism professionally

It does not matter whether you like it or not when people criticize you. The fact is that people can see your flaws better than you, so learning how to deal with and accept criticism is essential in business. Unfortunately, both types of criticism can lower your self-esteem due to the fact that it challenges your skills or character, destructive criticism is just mostly personal attacks. Sometimes it could be intentional, other times they are just an outcome of a lack of talent. Whatever is the cause you will know right away that it is destructive criticism if it only points out your flaws. Constructive criticism includes suggestions on how to improve. Performance reviews are supposed to give you opportunities to hear what your manager thinks about your work. Many managers would rate their employees either as “average” or “above average” to keep the status quo. The reasons for doing this are to prevent them from losing their motivation to work, keep top-performers from getting satisfied with their work instead of improving themselves, and avoid possibly strange questions from employees about who could ask what they have done to deserve low ratings. It is not an easy task to give or receive a strong message in a constructive way. However, getting accustomed to offering and receiving feedback is important for professional growth and development. When the feedback is presented correctly, it can be an essential tool for leaders and peers to assist each other for better results, find motivation and strengthen relationships. Constructive criticism is a useful technique of giving feedback that gives precise, actionable recommendations. Good constructive feedback makes positive outcomes and creates a peaceful atmosphere. It also provides workers with a safe space so they can feel confident to ask questions, seek assistance, offer suggestions and feedback, and have a better understanding of how to meet their requirements and what is expected from them. Oxford Dictionary defines criticism as “the expression of disapproval of someone or something on the basis of perceived faults or mistakes”. Many people will perceive this definition as a negative term, and when this element is concentrated on, the outcome will result in the delivery of destructive criticism. It only focuses on the problem as perceived by the person giving the criticism; gives no motivation, help, or support to improve the situation. When giving criticism it is important to critique the actions, not the person. It is possible that the person receiving criticism will be defensive. You want to do your best to make sure they do not take the feedback personally. It needs to be understandable that this is about their performance not their character. This can be hard when their work is in fact closely related to a personality trait. For example, it is easy to ask an employee to change the way they format a document or ask them to be hard-working about cleaning their area. Part of giving criticism is assessing the action, not the person. When an employee does not feel personally attacked, it will be easy for them to accept constructive criticism. It is important to make sure that the solution you advise is precise and detailed.

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Mendoza, Charley. How to Take Constructive Criticism Like a Professional. Business. 12 January 2021

https://business.tutsplus.com/articles/how-to-take-constructive-criticism--cms-31176

Obatomi, Maureen. How to give and receive constructive criticism at work. 22 January 2021

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.betterup.com/blog/how-to-give-and-receive-constructive-criticism-at-work%3fhs_amp=true

Business, career. Offering Constructive Criticism. 2021 

https://thesource.net/blog/offering-constructive-criticism/