When people continuously complain, it affects those around them. Not only does it dampen the enthusiasm in a workplace, but collaboration and innovation are often forgotten in this negative atmosphere. People usually have lots of excuses (it’s the season, it’s a birthday coming up, or a million other things), but quality leaders shouldn’t indulge in this type of behavior.
Do you anticipate the arrival of fall? The cooler air, the changing leaves? Or maybe you can’t wait for the sweet song of spring, and the new baby birds chirping at the sun. Or maybe you love the heat of summer or the brisk cold of winter. Whatever the case, some people have trouble adapting to the changing seasons, and this can bring out the worst in people.
To be an effective leader, you must have strong collaboration skills, and you also have to be able to inspire others around you. Being the strong-handed ‘do it my way’ manager of old is long gone in this Imagination Age. So, ask yourself, do you become a complainer during certain times of the year?
Talking about our problems is our greatest addiction. Break the habit. Talk about your joys.
Rita Schiano
As a leader, you achieve more when you are able to create an environment conducive to collaboration. Negative attitudes, whining and complaining do not create a climate that invites inspiration. Instead, people will be less likely to take risks, more cautious, and collaboration will be stifled.
It’s only natural to become frustrated and to complain about those frustrations. Sometimes things just don’t go right, and it can be enough to make even the calmest person upset. Seasonal moodiness can only compound matters. Being able to control those emotions is what separates okay leaders from great leaders. Which one do you want to be?
Our world has rapidly changed in the past few decades, and globalization is required to run a successful business. However, all of us need to develop a more collaborative mindset to be a successful leader in this new world. Your subconscious dynamics may cause you to see and act through the limbic part of the brain, responsible for fast, emotional and instinctive emotional reactions.. We have been conditioned to catch ourselves (and others!) when something goes wrong, but this will not encourage your brain to move away from the ‘survival mode’ of thinking.
When you inspire others, you bind together a team to see your passion and vision. Our knowledge of neuroscience is helping us understand how our brains behave in survival mode, and how inspiration is easily forgotten in an environment that isn’t conducive to mingling with others and exchanging thoughts and ideas.
But you can change. You can make an effort to learn about new approaches to leadership, how to rewire your brain to see other perspectives and how to break away from the survival mode of living. You can stop complaining and be appreciative of everything that you DO have. It’s up to each of us to create a different atmosphere to the one that we usually complain about.