Handling Criticism

In his book Leadership Gold, John Maxwell titles one chapter, “When You Get Kicked in the Rear, You Know You’re Out in Front.” Aristotle wrote, “Criticism is something you can avoid easily—by saying nothing, doing nothing, and being nothing.”

 Receiving criticism is a reality of leadership. Handling negative criticism is a skill that an effective leader must develop.

 Handle criticism by asking three key questions:

1.      Who was it from? If it’s from someone you admire and trust and who has added value to your life before, then you might learn significantly from their input.

2.      How was it given? Angry criticism is rarely constructive criticism. Try to discern if the person giving the criticism truly desires to help you.

3.      Why was it given? There may be something valuable to learn if the criticism is from a trusted source and given with sincere and positive intentions.

 I like this anonymous quote, “Don’t mind criticism. If it is untrue, disregard it; if unfair, keep from irritation; if it is ignorant, smile; if it is justified it is not criticism, learn from it.”

I put it this way, "Always ignore your critics, unless they're right."

Who Will You Take to the Next Level?

            I’ve discovered this statement to be true as I have worked with paid and volunteer staffs across the past 40 years, “Whenever you go to the next level, some of your people will go with you, and some won’t.”

            The daunting reality of this truth is that you, as the leader, quite often have the most influence is determining those who will go with you to the next level. The challenge is to build a team of capable, effective, and enthusiastic eagles who can take your vision for the next level and fly with it. However, that presents another challenge. Once you have that team, you have to challenge them with a dynamic vision, significant goals, and opportunities for significant professional and personal growth.

            To do this requires you to possess a lot of confidence in three areas:

1.      In yourself—your abilities, your experience, your leadership skills.

2.      In your strategy—that the goals you have set and the plans for pursuing them will accomplish what you desire to achieve.

3.      In your team—the people you take with you to the next level are the very people who will help you get to the level beyond that. Recruit team members with an idea of the kind of leaders who can take you to the next level and beyond. As John Maxwell says, “One is too small a number for significance.”

Focus Determines Direction

Focus Determines Direction

            General George McClellan commanded Union forces in the early years of the Civil War. He was highly qualified and a capable strategist. He won several battles against the Confederate forces of General Robert E. Lee. His failing was that he would take the field of battle but then refuse to pursue Lee’s army once he had them in retreat. As a result, Lee was able to regroup time and again for future battles. Some scholars believe this fault in McClellan’s strategy extended the war by two years.

            Finally, President Abraham Lincoln replaced McClellan and eventually appointed General U. S. Grant as commanding general of the Union army. With Grant’s movements in the north and General William Sherman’s strategy in the south, the tide of the war turned significantly in favor of Union forces.

            The difference between these generals is that McClellan focused on winning battles, while Grant and Sherman focused on winning the war.

            What you focus on determines the direction you travel in your career and your life. Are you focused on just today’s challenge, or are you advancing every day toward achieving your most significant goals and objectives?

Significant Activity for Significant Results

Significant Activity for Significant Results

 “Your success will be largely determined by your ability to concentrate single-mindedly on one thing at a time.”   --Brian Tracey

            This quote generates two thoughts. First, I think most of us have that time during a day that we attempt to check off as many items on our to do list as we possibly can in as brief a time as we can. These are generally items of minor significance that require a minimum of thought, action, and time. They are important, but they aren’t overwhelming significant. If they are not overwhelmingly significant, they should not be allowed to consume a significant amount of our daily agenda. In fact, I encourage you to evaluate these items to see if they can be assigned to someone else in the organization. If you are doing what someone else can do, then you are probably taking away valuable time from focusing on those things that only you can do.

             On the other hand, there should be challenges and opportunities in your work day that are so significant and essential to your success that they absolutely require your undivided attention and the full arsenal of your thinking, experience, skill, and enthusiasm; and the sooner you can discern what those items are and commit a majority of your daily agenda to accomplishing them, the sooner you will experience success.

             The 80/20 principle kicks in here. 20% of your activity items usually produces 80% of your results. Are you focusing the bulk of your time and effort on the activities that produce the most significant results?

             David Allen sums it up well when he writes, “You can do anything, but not everything.”