From Ken Saxon’s newsletter

I forgot how challenging it can be to receive a big download of anonymous feedback, and to try to make constructive use of it. As I’ve done my whole life, I skipped right past all the nice things people said and focused on the critiques. When I do that, I find it’s easy to fall into defensiveness or make excuses.

Fortunately, I had an executive coach who debriefed the assessment with me. She made sure I took in the complimentary feedback, and she helped me process the critical feedback in the constructive way it was intended — to support my development and our organization’s mission.

I feel this same way each time I receive feedback! Feedback is powerful but is often be really tough to hear.