Ordinarily criticism is seen as negative, creating a barrier for the person, system or organisation subjected to critical analysis. Organisations are even more antipathetic to criticism than individuals; the modern profession of spin-doctors has seen an inflated demand because 'spin' is seen as the antidote to criticism, deflecting it and rendering it invalid.
Yet organisations cannot advance without correcting what is wrong, and improving what is right. How can that come about without someone taking it upon himself to examine the merits and demerits of a situation and sifting the good from the bad, so that a clear path to improvement is laid out?
There are two objectionable things in criticism; one lies with the person who hears criticism and takes it as a personal affront, and the other lies in the person delivering criticism as if it were a judgment on another person's intellect, integrity, or intentions. Good criticism, even of another person's work, is not to be delivered as if it were a damning of the person; it should rather take the form of pointers to things not considered, mistaken conclusions drawn, and should suggest a better way, allowing room for debate. It is never a good time to criticise, if feelings of ill toward the other person overwhelm the purpose of objective critique.
Why do people take it badly when criticised? The vehemence with which some appraisals are delivered has something to do with it. It is made to seem as if a person's espousal of a particular method or a particular end is unforgivably bad. Another common reason is that the negative critique is rendered with a personal thrust of the dagger (sarcasm being its common disguise), instead of being based on a keen analysis that focuses on the objective, the means, and the alternatives; and sets out why a particular suggestion is more efficient in achieving the ends sought.
Unless managers learn how to take criticism well, and how to deliver criticism impersonally, gently, and objectively, the organisation suffers. Opportunities for improvement are lost, and personal animosities begin to poison the atmosphere. Inter-departmental wrangling breaks out, collaboration suffers.
Every organisation needs to conduct a workshop to perfect the art of giving and receiving criticism, so that it becomes what it should be: a powerful way to communicate and bound forward rapidly.
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