Can Constructive Criticism Become Your Most Helpful Tool?

By Courtney Elder at Completed.com

Running a business, being someone’s employee, or even working for yourself all come with their own set of psychological challenges, and how you utilize both praise and negative feedback will play a large role in your level of success. It’s been talked about quite a bit as of late, especially in the framework of growth vs fixed mindset, as the emphasis on how we respond to others has become a larger and larger factor in our lives.

While the term “mindset” is pretty all-encompassing, the idea about how we deal with feedback specifically is one that’s worth exploring. In fact, with the right approach and a bit of knowledge under your belt, you may notice that constructive criticism is your most valuable tool.

How Do You Feel?

One might argue that in the traditional working world of cubicles and 9 to 5 employment, there’s a huge lack of feedback that’s given as a whole. Employees only hear from their higher-ups when they’ve done something wrong, and in some cases, that news isn’t delivered in the most helpful way. Rarely do we get called into the manager’s office to be given a pat on the back, and yet we wonder why 2017’s Gallup World Poll notes that 85% of people hate their jobs.

It’s one thing to have a tough skin and not let the negative feedback of a boss or customer get to you, but changing your mindset entirely could be the most productive action you ever take. Rather than feeling as if you’re being personally assaulted and immediately going into a defense mode, those with a growth mindset look at complaints as a way to grow.

Giving Feedback The Right Way

All too often, online communication tools don’t approach the idea of constructive criticism in the most ideal way. Yelp, Google, and more focus on a star system that can instantly tell others how “good” you are, and while there’s room to give detailed explanations, it’s far too easy for these outlets to be used as complaint factories.

Even sites that are more geared toward the working world like Upwork or Glassdoor utilize similar rating systems and don’t really promote the idea of divulging feedback that would be useful down the line. Either you’re happy and you share all about it or you’re mad and you vent – end of story.

Why We’re Different

There’s no doubt that one’s online presence can play a huge role in the future, and whether you work part-time at a retail store or you’re the CEO of a large organization, you too deserve to learn and grow in a way that matters. That’s why leaving a review at Completed.com allows users to share the good, bad, and ugly in a way that allows you to grow. If you’re looking to make a change in 2019, why not use tools like Completed.com to gain a true understanding of the areas in which you can improve upon.