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."