Feedback: Life in Darkness or a Road to Success?
The Fear of the Negative Feedback
Fear of the dark is ingrained in every human being because that fear is something that helped our ancestors survive. There were many creatures living in the dark that wanted to eat them, so people learned how to avoid the dark. Since we are no longer in danger that something unknown will eat us in the dark (at least in most cases :-)), which situations cause you to have the same defence reactions such as the fear of the dark in your business surrounding?
Let me guess - the fear of the negative feedback, constructive criticism, whatever you call it. We are so afraid of these things that we are ready to surround ourselves with the people for whom we know will give us positive feedback.
Vuk Kockar, Human Value Manager at Vega IT
For example, when you hear the words: “But you didn’t do this well, etc.”, some of you want to jump out of your chair because you are angry and want to explain that there must have been some kind of misunderstanding, and some of you feel hurt and inadequate and ready to say whatever it takes to make the person who has given you the feedback restore faith in you. And, here you are, stuck in the middle of an unpleasant feeling that you want to avoid and the feeling of being praised all the time through positive feedback and massaging your own ego.
Overcoming the Fear
Naturally, we can avoid that unpleasant feeling, but how will we grow and reach our maximum potential if we only listen to the things we want to hear?
It’s relatively easy. It’s up to us to overcome our fear of the dark as well as the monster living in our wardrobe or underneath our bed because only when we make sure there are no such things, can we stop feeling fear and become better versions of ourselves.
The Next Step
A magical lamp that sheds light on the dark called Feedforward plays a major role in this. What we need to do is direct this lamp towards the dark and see not the things we need to change in our own behaviour, but what’s expected of us in the future to become better at what we do.
Of course, it is completely normal and ok to feel scared, hurt, or angry. But, we also have the power to find a way how to use those emotions to develop and grow.
Has any of you had a chance to use a magical lamp called Feedforward? Did it help? Feel free to share your thoughts with us.
