Haters gonna hate: Dealing with criticism
Criticism is part and parcel of academic work. It is embedded in journal reviewer reports, conference questions and grant reports. We need criticism: it can help us to see our work in a new light, overcome road blocks, and reach our full academic potential. The problem occurs, however, when criticism is no longer constructive but destructive. So how can we deal with potentially destructive feedback?
We spoke with Professor Katy Barnett as part of Melbourne Law School’s Early Career Network seminar series about how we should navigate criticism. Here are our ideas and suggestions:
1. Recognise that destructive feedback is not about you: it reflects the person’s own insecurities or failure to respect academic norms. It is their failure, not yours.
2. You are not alone: some people are serial givers of destructive feedback; everyone has received negative feedback at some time. Share your experiences with colleagues – you will probably hear similar stories!
3. Even when people completely miss the point of your work, there can be something to take away from it. Can you be more explicit about what you are trying to do (or not do)? See these sorts of comments as a chance to refine your work.
4. In the context of reviewers’ reports, you have the luxury of taking your time to respond. Put them away in a draw for a day/week/month. You can push back against unreasonable changes or revisions. Provide detailed reasons for pushing back on things – this will help the editors to see that you have dealt with the reports thoughtfully. If editors insist that you make changes you disagree with, you always have the option to withdraw the paper. It may take more time to get your paper published, but you have choice.
5. Some areas and conferences are more critical than others. If you know a conference is critical, but feel a professional need to attend, what about going with a friend or colleague, or even asking them to pre-prepare a question for your paper? Then you will have at least one sympathetic person in the audience.
6. At a conference, you can push back on questions, especially if they are pedantic or unrelated to your paper. Try something like: “I can’t answer that immediately, but I will think about this / look into it and get back to you.”
7. If you are comfortable doing so, challenge bad behaviour at conferences. Or, ask more senior colleagues to do so. Or, report it to the conference organisers. Behaviour will only change if people challenge it.
8. Persist, persist, persist. Criticism can hurt – but keep going.