Feedback as fuel: Turning criticism into career acceleration
- Madeline Curtis
- 5 days ago
- 4 min read
Michael Jordan is one of the most well-known basketball players of all time. A six-time NBA Champion hall-of-famer, he’s practically a living legend. But his success wasn’t handed to him—he had to earn it through rigorous practice, intense training, and constant criticism. For professional athletes, criticism is never-ending—from coaches, fellow teammates, and even the fans in the stands. But Jordan learned early on that criticism can be used as fuel for change. In 1978, years before he’d start his professional career, Jordan was rejected from making the varsity basketball team at his high school. He could have folded under the weight of that rejection, allowing the criticism to steamroll his hope and future. But he didn’t. No, Jordan used that feedback as a motivator to train harder and hone his skills. The result would become the stuff of legends.
Criticism can be a hard pill to swallow, especially when it’s targeted at our skills and talents. We often tend to view feedback as something negative–a spotlight on our shortcomings and failures. For many, it can trigger defensiveness or anger. For others, it sparks overthinking, doubt, or even feelings of worthlessness. However, when we shift our perspective, we can begin to see there are enormous advantages to feedback. This perspective shift comes when we understand why feedback matters and how to harness its use.
Why feedback matters?
Feedback is essentially a signal–a moment when someone is showing you how your professional presence, skills, or output could be even better. This signal sheds light on the potential others see in us and how we measure up. The truth is, no one grows in a vacuum. The skills you need to take the next step in your career require refinement. Skills like clearer communication, stronger leadership, and sharper decision-making all need to be honed. This refinement can only come when we understand where we thrive and where we need help. Feedback removes the guesswork, exposing what we’re doing right and where potential lies.
Feedback is something we all deeply crave—whether we realize it or not. Over 65% of employees want more feedback from their leadership. Of the employees who do receive feedback on a regular basis, 81% are more engaged in their work. Why? Because feedback fuels growth. When we stop seeing feedback as something negative and view it as a catalyst for reaching our potential, we’re able to better embrace it. So, how exactly does criticism act as fuel for career growth?
Take a look at these ways.
Four ways criticism acts as career acceleration:
1. Feedback as accountability
Feedback keeps you honest with yourself. It reminds you of the standards you’ve set for yourself, even when you’ve slipped into autopilot. At its core, accountability is simply taking account of your own abilities. Feedback offers us a real-time look into how we’re using our abilities. Accountability doesn’t aim to shame or discourage. On the contrary, it should pull you or push you to your potential. When someone points out where you fall short, you can gain clarity on what expectations look like in real time. That clarity can help you show up with consistency—if you pay attention to it.
The first step to using feedback as accountability is to practice accountability regularly. Try setting some time aside each day, week, or quarter to reflect on your actions and inactions. Be objective but concise, avoiding negative language. When you get into the habit of practicing accountability, you’ll be better equipped to utilize feedback in this manner.
2. Feedback as skill refinement
The best professionals aren’t the ones who were born with a perfect working use of hard and soft skills. No, the best professionals are those who strive to continuously hone their skils. Often, feedback shows us where our skills could use a boost. Are your time management skills up to par? Do you communicate as clearly as you should or could? Do you have the industry knowledge you need to lead effectively? Are you staying up on trends or changes that could impact your company? Feedback works as a spotlight for skills that need sharpening, highlighting where you are and where you could be.
Consider what hard and soft skills you could invest time in sharpening. Make a list of the skills you practice well and the skills you seem to get the most feedback on. Make an action plan for how to get more practice in with the latter list of skills.
3. Feedback as goal re-calibration
We often tend to set goals based on where we are in the current moment. But, goals can and should evolve based on new experiences, growth, and information. Feedback gives us this new information and acts as a catalyst for growth. Criticism helps you see when your approach isn’t aligned with the outcome you want, giving you the opportunity to calibrate or recalibrate your approach. It redirects your trajectory before you waste time heading down the wrong path. In the same vein, criticism can also shed light on whether or not a path is the right one to take. Often on our growth journeys, we set our intentions on the right goal but take the wrong path to get there. Feedback can help us re-calibrate our internal GPS, showing the best way to reach our desired destination.
Goals can be tough to craft: too vague and we set ourselves up for failure, too easy and we never reach our potential. While feedback helps us re-calibrate the goals we’ve set for ourselves, those goals must be meaningful, concrete, actionable, and measurable. To help you create clear, actionable, and measurable goals, download our free e-book: “The Path to Success.”
4. Feedback as fuel
Feedback can fuel your professional and personal growth. Positive or negative, feedback can energize you–driving you to achieve more than you might have otherwise. Positive feedback can validate what’s working and boost your confidence. Constructive criticism can nudge you to consider what’s not working and polish the skills you need to reach your full potential. Both types of feedback can propel you toward growth—if, like Michael Jordon, you don’t let them waylay you. Instead, view feedback and criticism as fuel not failure.
Criticism isn’t your enemy—not stretching and groaning are. Stagnation dulls our minds and skills, wasting time, talent, and potential. If you want to realize your best self, embrace feedback even when it’s uncomfortable—especially when it’s uncomfortable.
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