Negativity can drain your energy and time. Staff morale and productivity can be affected.
Sometimes that negativity is indication of stress, burnout or frustration and a sign someone is about to quit their job…
You will notice, negative people love vague complaints:
‘Leadership is a proper mess’, ‘They don’t know what they are doing and don’t listen to us, ever’. ‘I can’t take this mess anymore.’
Those comments stuck with you.
Your job is not to fix things - but you should acknowledge this and build a resiliance. Tackle to root cause otherwise negativity spreads like a poison ivy.
You can’t help that people compliant, some just do, others just get on with the day.
As a leader you listen, observe and learn to act before things escalate.
Set the standards, your team your rules.
Remember: Approach with caution: 📢
➡️1. Set boundaries: ’ I don’t feel comfortable talking about this’ - sends a clear signal you don’t want to talk about the subject - Don’t get involved in conversations which you will regret later or might be used against you.
Don’t be afraid to cut conversation short or walk away.
Lesson learnt.
➡️ 2. You can push back for clarity - ‘Who’s they’ or Are you talking about someone specifically?’ If the complainer puts a name to a problem, they can look at the problem from a different perspective, perhaps come up with a solution themselves: What can be done differently?
➡️ 3. Simply, listen to them, be there: ‘Sounds like you’re carrying a lot right now.’ ‘Sounds like today didn’t start well.’ - you acknowledge them but don’t get suck into the problem. They might realise that they putting a burden on you, and withdraw or you can offer 121 meeting to address any concerns.
➡️ 4. This one can be a tricky one - you might need to say goodbye to someone who is affecting the team with their negativity. You said once, twice… gone.
Remember: all should be documented, all conversations and actions on record for any HR proceedings.