Leadership is the art of leading others to deliberately create a result that would not have happened otherwise.

To be a leader, you need to:

• Dream

• Communicate

• Take action

• Commit

Be a "person of influence" by adding value to others

We're all familiar with these qualities and recognize them in good leaders we have known. But this list is missing one important quality of leadership.

A good leader must be able to deal with criticism constructively.

Criticism was not something I used to handle well, especially in my earliest leadership positions. Looking back, I recognize that some of the decisions I made in those positions were focused on making people like me.

In other words, my decisions were motivated by a desire to avoid criticism. Unfortunately, some of those decisions were not good for my employer or my immediate career. Plus, some of those decisions did not turn out well for the people I was supposed to be leading.

Aristotle said, "Criticism is something you can avoid--by saying nothing, doing nothing, and being nothing." That was me at times in my early career before I learned how to deal with criticism.

By saying and doing nothing, I became nothing more than a person with a position. I was not leading.

Many years have past since those early days and I have continued to grow as a leader. Through a lifetime of practicing leadership, I have learned that to truly lead, I must not only expect criticism, but welcome it. In fact, when I do not receive criticism, I question whether I am truly leading.

John C. Maxwell said it all in Lesson 4 of his book entitled "Leadership Gold". He aptly titled this lesson: "When You Get Kicked in the Rear, You Know You Are in Front."

If we are to be successful leaders, we don't have the option of saying, doing, and being nothing. We must accept criticism as the price of leadership and lead well.

Here are a few ways you can use criticism to lead well:

1.  Expect criticism. It is the price of leadership.
   
   
2. Accept criticism. Strong leaders are confident. Confident people allow others to be critical. In fact, they make constructive criticism a vital part of their organization’s culture.
   
   
3. Keep criticism in perspective. Assume that all feedback is logical and worthy of your honest consideration, but don't give so much weight to one criticism that you miss the encouragement of many.
   
   
4. Appreciate criticism. Norman Vincent Peale wrote, "The trouble with most of us is that we would rather be ruined by praises than saved by criticisms." Strong leaders openly and quickly admit when they are wrong. Leaders are not perfect. Strong leaders get stronger when faced with failure and that is because they learn from the experience. Criticism can be a measure of how well you are leading. If you are not being criticized, you may want to consider whether you have slipped from leading to following.
   
   
5. Limit your response to criticism. Don’t respond negatively or take revenge. Remember what Elbert Hubbard said, "The final proof of greatness is to endure criticism without resentment."
   
   
6. Don’t allow criticism to stop you from achieving your higher purpose. Friends, the higher the purpose or the more necessary the organizational change, the greater the level of criticism. Great leaders expect, welcome, and appreciate criticism because they know how to keep it in perspective. They do not allow critics to deter them from achieving their higher purpose.

Call to Action:

1. When was the last time your leadership was criticized?
2. Was the criticism directed at you personally or at your leadership decision?
3. How did you respond?
4. What were the results of your response?What might have happened if you had responded differently?
5. How can you create a culture of constructive criticism within your organization?

The best is yet to come. It starts with you.

Your friends,
The UpCloseTeam