I'll never forget the first time I got chewed out by my boss. By that point, I'd been working for several years and had dealt with my fair share of grumpy bosses and demanding clients, so I thought I had learned to handle criticism well. But that day, I got a proper scolding for the first time.
I was new to the BA team at Fsoft, and my manager, a senior BA, had assigned me to write an SRS document. It wasn't a particularly complicated task; all I had to do was finish the document and then check for typos and formatting errors. But guess what? I forgot. During the review, she noticed missing sections, inconsistencies, and typos (I had relied too much on Word's autocorrect and hadn't bothered to proofread carefully). And boy, did she let me have it!
I felt so wronged. I was new to the team, the workload was already overwhelming, and the mistakes were minor. Why was she making such a big deal out of it? But I knew better than to talk back; that would only make things worse. So I just kept my mouth shut and told myself to try harder next time.
Over time, I did improve and became more careful. But sadly, I still found myself on the receiving end of criticism quite often. The more I worked, the easier it was to make mistakes, to overlook things I considered trivial. Small things like incorrect naming conventions for Use Cases, floating actions in Activity Diagrams... and bigger things like forgetting an entire set of basic Use Cases (CRUD operations, how could I miss those?!).
After countless "scolding sessions," I realized I needed to change my approach to receiving criticism. I started focusing on the issue itself rather than my emotions. It didn't matter what my boss said or how she said it; I just focused on the content, mentally listing the points that needed fixing. As soon as she finished, I'd put on my best "Miss Congeniality" smile, thank her, confirm the points needing correction, and gently offer my perspective if I felt the need to defend myself. Then, with another radiant smile, I'd quickly excuse myself and head back to my desk to review the feedback (because who wants to stand there and get scolded even more?).
Of course, no one enjoys being criticized, and I'm no exception. Whether it's your boss or a client, they're not happy, they're annoyed. If I'm wrong, I listen and fix it. If I'm not wrong, I still listen and keep my cool. If I were better than them, I wouldn't be in this position. Since I am here, right or wrong, I listen, show goodwill, and find a better time to discuss things calmly.
Learning how to take criticism, or more broadly, how to accept opposing opinions, is a crucial life skill for everyone, especially for BAs who are constantly caught between "dangerous stakeholders" like bosses, clients, and even their own team members. It's essential for growth and self-improvement.
Bonus: taking criticism can actually makes you "stronger". The more you experience it, the better you'll become at handling it. Trust me, it's a valuable skill to develop!
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