There’s no ego in ‘feedback.’
Getting feedback at work for the first time can be surprising. In school, feedback usually came as a grade and stopped at the end of the semester. At work, feedback is ongoing and helps you improve. When a manager points out an error or asks you to revise something, it’s not a criticism of your abilities. Instead, it shows they believe in your potential and want to help you grow.
Try not to take constructive criticism to heart. It’s natural to want to defend yourself or explain why you made a mistake, but doing so can make it seem like you care more about your ego than about doing good work. Instead, see feedback as a chance to learn and improve, almost like a free lesson made just for you.
Being coachable means knowing when to pause. When someone gives you advice, try not to jump in with explanations or apologies. Take a moment, listen carefully, and thank them for their input. Showing gratitude instead of defensiveness helps you build a reputation as a thoughtful and reliable teammate.
How you handle feedback can shape your future opportunities. Managers prefer to mentor people who are open to advice, not those who push it away. If you accept small corrections with a good attitude, you show you’re ready for more responsibility and bigger projects.
Put these approaches into practice.
Let’s look at practical ways to turn small corrections into valuable lessons.
“When my supervisor returned my first financial model covered in red line edits, my stomach dropped. I assumed I was on the verge of being let go. I took a deep breath and reminded myself that if she didn’t care about my development, she wouldn’t have spent forty minutes detailing those changes. I implemented her structural updates and realized the exercise wasn’t a punishment—it was a masterclass in forecasting.”
DON’T view a manager’s edits, revisions, or pointers as a negative criticism of your intelligence or a sign that you are failing at the role.
DO see work feedback as an investment in your growth. It means your leaders believe in your potential and want to help you improve.
“During a project debrief, my manager pointed out that my client presentation slides were too text-heavy. My immediate instinct was to cut him off and explain that I included all that text because the client requested extensive background data. Instead, I forced myself to count to three, listen to his design logic, and map out his visual preferences. Taking that pause made me look mature and collected, rather than anxious and reactive.”
DON’T interrupt a feedback delivery to launch into an explanation, justification, or immediate apology to defend why you made the initial error.
DO pause and listen carefully to all of the feedback before responding. Focus on understanding the lesson being shared.
“I used to say ‘Yes, but...’ whenever a senior colleague suggested a workflow change. I noticed it made people hesitant to review my assignments. I consciously swapped out my defensive phrasing for a new script: ‘Thank you for tracking that bottleneck, I appreciate the insight.’ The cultural energy shifted instantly; senior analysts began proactively pulling me into new projects because they knew I was exceptionally easy to coach.”
DON’T allow ego-preservation to dictate your tone, making excuses that label you as a high-friction, defensive team member who is difficult to guide.
DO thank others for their feedback and focus on how you can use it to improve your work.
“After my manager corrected a data filtering error I made in a monthly report, I didn’t just fix the cell and move on. I asked: ‘Thank you for catching that variance; how can I adapt our entry protocol to ensure this type of drift is caught automatically on our upcoming quarterly audit?’ She sat up, impressed that I was applying a small correction to a macro-level team goal. It proved I was thinking two steps ahead.”
DON’T dwelling silently on past mistakes or treat feedback as a transactional box to check, ignoring how the lesson scales to future business initiatives.
DO end every feedback conversation by asking how you can use what you learned in future projects.
“I watched a fellow associate react with visible frustration whenever our director updated our team’s project parameters. I chose the opposite route, executing every pivot with a high-energy, collaborative attitude. When a major, high-visibility client account opened up, the director explicitly handed it to me. She told me: ‘I chose you because I need someone who runs with advice rather than pushing back against it.’ High coachability was my fastest ticket to promotion.”
DON’T push advice away or avoid checking in with your supervisors, isolating yourself out of a fear of receiving additional negative evaluations.
DO welcome small corrections with a positive attitude. Being coachable helps you stand out for mentorship and promotions.
The next time a supervisor suggests an edit to your work, can you challenge yourself to say “Thank you for that perspective, how can I apply this to the next project?” instead of explaining why you did it the first way?
Integrate these professional strategies into your workflow—whether you’re refining your own work or mentoring your team or clients.