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We spend a significant portion of our lives at work, often in the company of people who we either dislike
or have little in common with. Given this, alternative methods of working and the pressure of project
deadlines, it is all too easy for frustrations to boil over and a blame culture to emerge.
This is extremely detrimental, however, as such a culture encourages us to apportion blame to our
colleagues while judging their performances harshlyand subjectively. Only criticism without judgement
can truly be constructive, so it is crucial that you hone your communications skills if you are to create a
more positive working environment.
2. Understand the goal of offering criticism and share this with your colleague
We have already touched on how emotive language can prevent constructive criticism, but the same
principle applies to the way in which you deliver your critique. Directing anger and frustration at the
recipient can cause them to shut down, for example, while seemingly aimless and unstructured criticism
leaves them with no potential to improve or progress going forward.
If you are tasked with appraising an under-performing employee, for example, it is crucial that you break
down each point of criticism and determine the precise motivation for delivering each one. So if you
criticise their application because you want them to fulfil their potential in the workplace and share this
with the recipient, they can consider the feedback in context while benefiting from an actionable future
goal. From your perspective, try using the mind-mapping technique to create a visual representative of
your thoughts so that these can be organised and clearly communicated through feedback.
your critique concisely creates specific points for improvement, eliminating any ambiguity that may exist
in the recipients mind. The value of this can be reinforced with honest and open communication, as this
type of direct interaction drives succinct and easy-to-understand actions going forward.
If you imagine that a sales colleague is struggling to engage buyers, you may look to offer them a critique
concerning the effectiveness of their communication. This instantly open to conjecture, however, as this
could apply to internal or external relationships while it may also relate to written or verbal
communication. Instead, use specific and focused language to describe the issue in detail, stating that the
colleague in question has an issue when talking to buyers.
It is also sensible to advocate the consequences of this problem, such as diminishing sales and a decline in
turnover. This helps your colleague to understand the importance of the problem and the need to act on
the criticism.