The Worst Quality In A Colleague
Complaining vs. Providing a Solution
How often have you been involved in a meeting where someone only highlights the negative? Has this person consistently provided nothing more than criticism?
Chances are that they have.
One of the main detriments to the culture of a workplace are those select individuals that spend more than the average amount of time complaining. The issue here is that complaining and finding the negative can permeate the entire facility.
We all remember the phrase about how one bad apple spoils the bunch. People are impressionable and the thought processes surrounding them have to be monitored.
As these negative mindsets are allowed to go unchallenged, they potentially attract others to their cause. Then you end up with a pesky snowball effect.
Call them out
Instead of letting them continue to bring morale down, address their concerns right to their face and ask them what they would do to solve the issues. Most of the time, they will simply say some impossible thing and continue to complain.
The best response is the elaborate on how little they really understand about the intricate processes they speak of. It may seem like a jerk move, but sometimes we have to go to that dark place if it gets someone to stop.
On the contrary, you may be surprised to hear something that you were not expecting, so be a little open minded.
The next best action is to implement a policy of solutions. My boss pretty much told us to never come to him with a problem unless you have a solution(s). I found that to be a great idea.
No boss wants to hear your problems unless you are prepared to offer a path to solve it. This allows them to understand how you see the issue as a whole.
When forcing people to be more open and requiring them to present their interpretation of the issue and corrective measures, you make them feel useful. Now, they see that their ideas aren’t just off the wall or being ignored — even if they sometimes have to be. They are at least comfortable with bringing up concerns.
Solutions are always welcome
We all know how annoying the complainer in the workplace is. Sometimes they just need a reminder of where the boss’s door is and someone to swiftly kick them into it.
Let that negative personality know that unless they are prepared to actually muster up a realistic solution to someone that matters that you don’t have time for it. We already have enough crap going on during the day and the last thing we need is someone openly complaining, without a plan to solve the problem.
Remember, anyone can complain about a problem— it takes intelligence to solve one.
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