As a professional, receiving feedback should be a regular occurrence, and should be embraced rather than avoided. Constructive feedback is one of the best ways to grow and improve as a professional. It encourages continual learning, and feedback can become a catalyst that helps advance your career.
Upon receiving feedback, what do you do with it? How can you welcome it and turn it into meaningful action that will help you grow in your profession? That’s what we’ll explore.
5 Ways to Embrace and Act on Feedback to Advance Your Career
Foster a Growth Mindset
It’s important to have a growth mindset if you want to begin to embrace feedback. With this productive mindset, you’ll see any feedback as an opportunity to become a better version of yourself. Instead of receiving feedback with a sunken, deflated attitude, a growth mindset means that you’ll embrace the feedback, excited for what lies ahead.
Actively Listen & Ask Questions
When you receive feedback from superiors or colleagues, don’t be afraid to ask questions that will help you truly understand how you can improve. Show you are actively listening by taking notes and asking follow-up questions. Be sure to be genuine about seeking clarification so your questions don’t come across as being defensive. When you show that you take feedback to heart, you’re showing your commitment to your work. Plus, clarifying how you can become a better worker will actually help you become better.
Take Time to Reflect
Once you’ve asked your questions, take a few minutes to reflect on the feedback. Have you been putting forth your best effort? Are personal issues in your life affecting your work ethic or productivity? What is your attitude towards your job? Any of these questions may be worth asking yourself as you reflect on the feedback. They can help you determine the feedback’s validity. You may also want to consider your professional goals and aspirations. Lining up these considerations with your feedback may help point you in the right direction to make improvements.
Identify a Plan
After you take time to reflect, you can begin to create a plan of action that will help you make the changes necessary for performance and professional growth. Your plan should include manageable goals that are aligned with your larger aspirations. These goals should be measurable and realistic as well.
Seek Guidance
It’s expected that while you develop your plan of action, you may find that you aren’t the expert on how to go about achieving your manageable goals. This, thanks to your growth mindset, will be seen as another opportunity to grow and learn. Connect with coworkers or other professionals in your network and seek guidance from them. Maybe they know of a course you can take to help you acquire a specific skill, or they might have other advice that can help you navigate your professional development.
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