Concept
Soliciting criticism
Soliciting criticism is Kim Scott's first move in feedback: before giving any, the manager asks the team what they could do or stop doing, waits through the awkward silence, and acts visibly on the answer, so that feedback becomes two-way and later challenges are accepted.
A manager who has never taken criticism in front of the team has not earned the right to give it. Scott's sequence puts the asking first, and gives it a form. The question is specific and real, not how am I doing: what could I do, or stop doing, that would make it easier to work with me? Then the silence, which is the part most managers cannot bear; the first answer is always slow, because the team is checking whether the question is safe. When it comes, the manager does not defend or explain; they thank the person, and within the week they act on it where the team can see. From then on the loop runs in both directions. A team that has seen its manager take criticism well will give it, and will accept it, because feedback is no longer something that flows only down. Lencioni's vulnerability-based trust is the same move at the level of the whole team.
A real-life example
Burak, who leads an accounting team in Bursa, has never asked for feedback. He opens a Monday meeting with the question and waits through a long silence until the newest hire names the Friday-evening report requests. He moves them to Thursday that week and says so. Two weeks later someone flags an error before it reaches a client.
How to use it
- 1Ask one specific question: what could I do or stop doing that would make working with me easier?
- 2Wait through the silence and do not defend yourself when the answer comes.
- 3Act on it within the week, visibly, and say that you did.