Ways to React to Negative Criticism of Your Role as a Business Leader

You hope that your employees have positive words to say about you as a leader. However, there’s no guarantee that they will say the nicest things. Some of them might even say terrible things behind your back. They’re afraid of you because of your influence and power, but it doesn’t mean they won’t have an avenue to express frustrations. Eventually, though, these words will reach you. The negative criticism hurled towards you might hurt, but it’s not yet over. You can still change yourself and prove that you’re worthy of the post. These are the things you need to do when you hear criticism about your role as a leader.

Talk to your employees in private

The goal of the exercise is not to determine who talked behind your back. The idea is to make everyone feel comfortable talking to you. Instead of spreading gossip and allegations, you have to convince your employees to talk to you directly. Whether it’s something good or bad, you have to listen. Be brave enough to take the criticism head-on. It might hurt, but you would rather hear from your employees and discuss how you can change.

Never punish your employees

You might feel agitated by the criticism. You become defensive and point out that you did nothing wrong. Eventually, you will pursue steps that could punish your employees indirectly. It could be an added burden on their regular tasks. Regardless of what you’re thinking about how to get back at them, you have to stop. You can’t use your power to take advantage of your employees. The first step is to pause and listen. You need to get the whole picture and understand why you’re getting terrible comments from your employees. They might be right or wrong. The point is that you listen to them first before you take the next steps.

Improve your communication skills

The negative criticism might also be a product of miscommunication. Your employees get the wrong idea. Even your messages end up being misinterpreted. It might be time to reconsider your manner of communicating with your employees, orally and in written form. You can be straightforward without hurting people’s feelings, especially if you didn’t intend to do it in the first place.

Be more available

When you place a barrier between you and your employees, you’re opening doors to criticism. Sure, there’s no need to be friends with everyone. However, you can always make yourself available. You can also randomly talk to your employees to talk about work and life. It’s a productive exercise since you get to know them and they also know you better.

When things get back to normal, you might want to host fun activities that will let you get to know everyone you work with. A fairground hire might be a good idea. You can have fun with your employees, and also get to know their family members.

Again, try to be receptive when you hear negative comments. Avoid immediate reactions and feeling like your employees are ganging up on you.