Monday, September 14, 2009

E-Tip 227 - 6 Tips for Giving Constructive Criticism

Constructive criticism is often needed to help improve a situation. However, constructive criticism can be a touchy subject and needs to be handled with care. You can approach criticism in ways that help minimize a negative reaction. This, in turn, will help your team become even stronger than before and will also help your organization run more efficiently. We have put together a list of 6 tips to help you deliver constructive criticism in a positive manner.

The 6 Tips For Bringing Constructive Criticism Into The Open Are:

1. Have A Meeting - Choose a time and place that everyone will be comfortable with. Make sure that everyone knows that they can speak freely. Do not let the meeting turn into a gripe session; focus on solutions to conflicts rather then pointing fingers or dwelling on the problem.

2. Talk About Present Issues At Hand - Limit your discussions to present issues at hand, not past problems. This will help keep the meeting solution-oriented.

3. Keep It Impersonal - Keep the discussions about conflicts impersonal so that you can work together to solve the issue. Otherwise, you may have some people who rebel and take a stand just to make a point. Avoid using a lot of negative words. Using words such as "disappointed" or "confused" when you talk about a situation will help keep the peace.

4. Look At It From Their Point-Of-View - When you have finished your initial self-expression, tell the other person you are truly eager to understand things from their point-of-view, then become eager. Try to get yourself to become more curious than you are furious.

5. Let Everyone Be Heard - Consider setting blocks of time for each person to have their say. If the conflict involves two or three people, take turns until every feels like they have been heard.

6. End On A Positive Note - Create an upside to talking so that you and the other person will want to talk again in the future, should the need arise. Close the conversation by listing all the positive things you learned from communicating. Also, discuss what actions everyone is going to take to minimize future conflict on the issue.


The 7 Core Competencies For Bringing Criticism Into The Open:

1. Values - For criticism to be constructive, a person must be guided by a personal code of ethics and demonstrate a strong sense of integrity.

2. Conflict Resolution - For criticism to be constructive, a person must be able to bring people together who have been separated by their differences.

3. Initiative - For criticism to be constructive, a person must proactively make things happen. They also need to be self-disciplined.

4. External Awareness - For criticism to be constructive, a person must be able to see things from multiple points of view. Also, they keep up to date with issues that affect responsibility.

5. Stress Management - For criticism to be constructive, a person must be able to differentiate between positive and negative stress. This helps them maintains a balanced attitude and consequently they are better able to deal with conflict.

6. Interpersonal Skills - For criticism to be constructive, a person must display a consistent ability to build solid relationships inside and outside the organization.

7. Communication - For criticism to be constructive, a person must be able to communicate well. Listening and speaking concisely are both equally important.

Summary: Avoiding giving criticism will cause problems to get worse, bringing them out in the open ultimately benefits all involved. Creating a work environment where everyone feels free to express constructive criticism will help the team grow together as well as individually. Always keep in mind that criticism must be dealt with responsibly and respectfully in order to be constructive.


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