Airbnb recently invited Sheryl Sandberg to share some of the lessons she earned working for tech giants Google and Facebook. A dynamic and fast-paced community like Airbnb can definitely learn a thing or 2 or maybe even more from the seasoned executive and author.

When asked what she was looking for in people who can scale with a company, Ms. Sandberg replied, "Someone who takes feedback well. Because people who can take feedback well are people who can learn and grow quickly."

Whether you are a professional or a college student, being on the receiving end of a feedback, no matter how carefully crafted it had been, is never easy. People in general are predisposed to negativity bias. Our brains are wired to respond more on the bad than on the good.

When receiving feedback, even when we know that the person giving it had our best interests in mind, our natural reflexes kick in and we get into a fight-or-flight mode. Some of us feel the need to justify ourselves while others question the authority of the person giving the critique and some do both.

However, we need to understand that in order to grow, it is important that we learn to see beyond the person giving the critique and the criticism per se. Instead of being ruled by our emotions and biases, set them aside and listen to what the other person is saying and ask yourself what you can learn from it and take away from the experience.

Instead of feeling sorry for yourself and loathing your instructor or boss, consider these:

"It not about me, it's about improving what I do."

Understand that you shouldn't take negative feedback personally. This is the one most important thing we all need to learn when it comes to making the most out of feedbacks.

You are not under attack. The other person just gave you pointers to improve your work or your performance, period. Stop overthinking why or how it was said and just do something about what was said.

Clarify what needs to be done

Choose to make the most out of the feedback you got and reflect on the points given. If it's clear that you need to improve your skills or if there are corrective actions you need to take and do it.

If moving forward from the criticism is unclear and you don't know what you need to do, after you've thought the feedback over, ask questions. Clarity will help you identify the next steps.

Seek help

Don't shy away from asking for help. It doesn't diminish your ability or worth, if anything else, asking someone's help can make you even better because you're doing something about the things you really need to work on.

Ask your friends to be your study buddies or your boss for additional input or a mentor for some tips. Knowing that you have some shortcomings and blindsides, is okay. We all have those but taking proactive steps to work on them is more important to employers than perfection.

Tags Facebook, Google