How To Get Better At Receiving Feedback

Strategies to level up your feedback game

This month, our throughline for dialogue and reflection is The First Principles of Feedback: Harness the Fundamentals of Effective Critique. We explore the various components of the feedback dynamic, including a return to the basics, what makes a difference in giving and receiving critique, and a cycling metaphor to stretch our thinking.

#279 | August 19, 2022​ | Tom x Midjourney

What goes wrong when receiving feedback?

Let’s start by exploring the typical traps and issues when receiving feedback. As you explore these scenarios, tune into your experiences and stories of when feedback didn’t work.

Too Quick to Judge

When connection and trust are missing, the receiver might be too quick to judge the content of the feedback. They seek out the loophole that enables them to dismiss it outright. When this happens, we tend to get upset and defensive rather than curious and open.

Losing Sight of the Goal

It is easy to forget why we asked for feedback in the first place or why we are having this conversation. We can lose sight of the goal and get caught up in our egos. Remember, the goal is to improve, not to be correct.