How to love criticism

Discussion Guide

  1. Do you already have a challenge network? When do you seek criticism– and when should you be seeking it?
  2. Who are the people you want to recruit for your challenge network, and what makes them good candidates? For example: do they have different perspectives or expertise? Have they given you unusually constructive criticism, or proven that they’re willing to give the feedback you don’t want to hear but need to hear?
  3. After finishing the Bridgewater episode, I started telling a handful of people that they’re core members of my challenge network. It feels like a powerful way of showing appreciation (letting people know how much I value their critiques) and offering encouragement (making it clear that I want them to continue pushing me). Have you thought about having that conversation with people who you’d like to bring into your challenge network?
  4. What’s your process for engaging your challenge network? When do you want them to review something independently vs. discuss it together? When should you seek their feedback simultaneously vs. sequentially?
  5. As a team, can you sit down and build a challenge network together?
  6. What are your expectations for feedback? Can you create guidelines for how to approach a feedback conversation?
  7. When is it appropriate to give spontaneous feedback in the moment vs. create a more formal meeting to have that conversation?
  8. What are the most effective ways to show that you care personally before you challenge directly?
  9. How can you make feedback more of a two-way dialogue than a one-way monologue?
  10. When you give yourself a second score, how can you encourage others to give them too?