The Essentials: Handling Fierce Criticism

Women at Work

If you’re in a leadership role, or any role where you’re putting yourself and your ideas out there in an outspoken and visible way, chances are that at some point people are going to criticize you, sometimes fiercely, sometimes publicly. Are you ready for that?

Two women who’ve felt the heat because of decisions they’ve made or arguments they’ve put forward—or simply because of who they are—reflect on the ways they’ve steeled themselves for harsh critiques and dealt with the fallout. Patti Neuhold-Ravikumar describes the preparation and the presence of mind she summoned as a university president communicating contentious budget cuts. Ruchika Tulshyan brings her expertise in DEI and women’s leadership to contextualize those experiences, and she describes her own experiences with online harassment and how she’s dealt with skeptics.

Listening to them recount how they responded to fierce criticism will hopefully help you think about how you might respond, both when you see it coming and when you don’t.

Guest experts:

Ruchika Tulshyan is the author of the book Inclusion on Purpose: An Intersectional Approach to Creating a Culture of Belonging at Work. She is the founder of Candour, an inclusion strategy firm.

Patti Neuhold-Ravikumar is an executive coach who was previously the president and CEO of the University of Central Oklahoma.

Resources:

• “How Leaders Should Handle Public Criticism,” by Ron Carucci
• “How to Be Resilient in the Face of Harsh Criticism,” by Joseph Grenny
• “How to Take Criticism Well,” by Sabina Nawaz
• “In a Crisis, Great Leaders Prioritize Listening,” by Erika James and Lynn Perry Wooten

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