Most people widely underestimate how long it takes to build a good reputation than how quickly; it can be destroyed by criticism in their workplace. Instead of dealing with this issue before spreading over, they sometimes leave it until it has degenerated and caused them more havoc than they would never have imagined. A critical moment we must never ignore in a hurry at anytime is when we are being criticized either by colleagues, superior officers or employer in your workplace. This is very important as it goes along way in building a good career.
Having said that, the next question that needs to be answered is how to respond when you are criticized either justly or unjustly? The first thing l would like to mention is SELF RESPECT; it helps in determining how you rated at your workplace. If you are the type everyone look upon, by this l mean to place in high esteem and commanding the attention of others or the type they look down, either having no regard for you and whatever you say. In any case you find your self l think l still have a message for you. I believe learning when and how to communicate in our workplace will always give us an edge at anytime we found our self at crossroad. Most often some of us tend to focus on keeping a good job or building our career without minding this simple tricks, but l tell you if this your approach towards good job work life you are missing it. My advice is for you to master the art of acquiring self respect for yourself, if really you want to go far in your chosen career.
Over the years l have learnt from experience that one of the ways not to respond to criticism is to quickly apologize each time you are criticized, because if you choose this approach you are simply confirming you are at fault and that you agreed with them. This is the approach l normally use whenever l am being criticized, I tend to be on the defensive by politely asking question like "can you give me your opinion if you were in my situation" with this, at least you will get a feedback and at best your question will lead to a discussion to conclude that your intention was not so bad after all.
In my own opinion the secret of responding to criticism is to be a good listener and ever since l adopted this style it has never failed me once. The truth is that you can get away with disagreeing with people as long as you show them the respect by listening to what they have to say. In this case it's not just what you hear by listening that matter, but what you say after and taking into consideration if it makes any sense and here the most important part of your listening is that it shows some signs of respect.
In conclusion when next you are criticized you should not quickly jump to the option of apologizing and never try to defend yourself first. Instead ask a polite question for you to better understand the criticism; this is capable of cooling down any tension.
About this Author
The author is an IT professional with a flair for educating the public on current issues that can be of general interest through the internet. visit [http://newjobseekers.com] for some of my views as it relates to career and skill development.
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