Constructive Feedback in the Workplace

The Praise Sandwich

Early in my career, I didn’t handle criticism well. I took it very personally, This was in part due to my own personal insecurities and partly down to the way it was delivered. I felt like I had been caught out.

That was long before I had heard of the praise sandwich which is a feedback technique that mixes both positive and negative feedback. It starts and finishes with positive and places the negative (or room for development) feedback in the middle.

Suffice to say that none of my early managers had been on any management training courses! The result was that I felt judged and stupid. It took time, and a lot of personal growth to realise that criticism and development are closely linked but only when it’s delivered well.

Not All Criticism Is Equal

As I grew in confidence, became a manager myself and went on management training courses, I learnt to become better both as the manager giving feedback and the one receiving it. But my early experience demonstrated that not all criticism is worth listening to. This is especially true when you are growing your own business. Other people do not have your vision and they are not prepared to take the risks that you are taking to build something that you are truly passionate about.

But it is not always easy to block out that negativity. Remember there are always ups and downs in growing your business and it is important to accept constructive criticism and use it to propel you forward while also ignoring criticism that you don’t accept or agree with. The important part is to listen actively and keep an open mind to any feedback that you receive.

Listen and Stop being the Bottleneck

As you start to grow your own team your role changes from being the “doer” to being the leader and that means your team must feel safe enough to tell you the truth.

They need to be able to say:

“This isn’t clear.”
“You’re not giving us the full picture."
“We need better systems.”
“We need quicker decisions.”

If they are not comfortable saying these things, you will always be the bottleneck in your business.

You must welcome all feedback because the faster you see your blind spots the faster your team will grow and take ownership. They will be motivated and grow in ownership and confidence.

This is when you have created true leverage and can step back from the day to day running of the business.

Grow Your Team

and

Grow Yourself

As you grow you will need to develop a different level of self-awareness. The truth is that the more senior you become, the less honest feedback you naturally receive so you have to actively invite feedback, and be strong enough to hear it.

Of course not every opinion matters, but structured, honest feedback from your team is gold dust because if you want a business that doesn’t depend on you, you must be willing to hear:

❌ Where you’re still too involved.

❌ Where communication is unclear.

❌ Where expectations are unrealistic

❌ Where your leadership style helps or hinders.

You need to become the kind of leader who can separate ego from information and strengthen systems instead of tightening control.

The Victim Trap

When criticism feels unfair, it’s easy to slip into a victim mindset and think that your team don’t understand me and what I am trying to achieve but a growth mindset demands something different. You may not control how feedback is delivered but you always control what you do with it.

A victim mindset focuses on: who was wrong, why it was unfair and how it shouldn’t have happened.

A growth mindset focuses on what’s within my control, what can I learn and what do I need to change.

Taking charge doesn’t mean suppressing emotion; it means owning it because your response sets the tone. If you react defensively, your team retreats. If you model reflection and accountability, they grow.

A Note to Female Founders

Criticism can land differently for women. We’re often socialised to:

🙋‍♀️ Be liked.

🙋‍♀️ Avoid conflict.

🙋‍♀️ Soften our message.

🙋‍♀️ Over-explain ourselves.

So when criticism comes, especially if it’s blunt it can feel heavier than it should. Do remember criticism is not a verdict on your capability, it is data to help with your development…..and you decide what to do with that data.

When You're Receiving Criticism

☑️Pause before reacting and accept the discomfort

☑️Separate tone from content. Is there something useful?

☑️Decide consciously: improve, clarify, strengthen or ignore.

When You’re Giving Criticism

If you want a business that runs without you, your feedback must develop people not demotivate them. Constructive criticism should:

☑️Be specific, not personal.

☑️Be private when possible.

☑️Be tied to standards and outcomes, not identity.

The Real Growth Mindset Shift

A fixed mindset hears criticism as: “I’m not good enough.”

A growth mindset hears: “This is what I need to work on”

As founders, especially female founders building ambitious businesses we don’t need to harden ourselves, we need to strengthen ourselves.

Strong enough to:

🔷Filter the noise.

🔷Invite honest 360 feedback.

🔷Take ownership of our reactions.

🔷Develop our teams through constructive challenge.

🔷And step back without stepping away from growth.

That’s leverage and that’s how you build a business and a leadership style that grows beyond you.

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