leadership and communication

Accepting Criticism and Feedback

Since I am aware that I am not perfect, I think that I am always open to receiving criticism and feedback at work. When I first started my career, I gave myself the assurance that I would be willing to accept criticism as a means of honing my talents and be willing to learn from my failures. I value these instances since they frequently serve as a reminder that I still need to develop my skill set within the organization. In a recent meeting at work, I left my cup of tea on the table as a demonstration of how I positively accepted criticism. One of senior level managers approached me and reminded me that it is courteous to return used utensils to the kitchen similar to what I would do at home. At first, this was quite embarrassing for me as everyone was eager to hear what the manager was telling me. I however took it positively and from that day I actually assist in carrying used utensils from such meetings.

Self-Development and Written Communication Skills

Based on this experience, I believe I can improve my ability to accept criticism by realizing that it is beneficial for self-development within the organization (Whitmore, 2015). I also aim on working on my written communication skills as part of self-development. This I will achieve by ensuring I use both short sentences and short paragraphs to ensure my content is easy to read. I will also proofread all my messages before sending them out so as to get rid of any errors.

Improving Listening Skills

My weakest listening skill while in the office is interrupting others when they are speaking. To improve on this, I plan on asking my colleagues to monitor my interactions with people and correct me when I interrupt others.

References

Whitmore, J. (2015, September 08). 5 Tips for Gracefully Accepting Constructive Criticism. Retrieved July 10, 2017, from https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/250304