Don't take it personally | Why the C-Suite struggles to give and receive feedback

There’s no doubt that feedback plays an important role in the leadership journey. In today’s challenging work environment – and particularly with the tight labour market and competition for talent – not only is it important that you give the right feedback to your staff to help them grow and achieve, but also that you are receiving the feedback you need to ensure you’re the best leader you can be.

Receiving criticism can be difficult. It can be bruising to the ego, and crushing to internalise the idea that you’re not meeting up to expectations – but of course it’s also all too easy for criticism to be taken the wrong way, as wounding and personal, when the real intention is to identify weaknesses so that you can work on them. Writing for the Financial Times, Esther Bintliff suggested there are three stages to receiving negative feedback: “The first…with apologies for the language, is, “F** you.” The second is “I suck.” And the third is “Let’s make it better.”