Leading Your Teams – Even With Complainers…
As you grow into a leader with influence, sometimes your voice may be drowned out by the complainers!
Pastor Jordan Green defined complaining as verbal rebellion against God! When I heard this I was like…Yikes, I complain all the time.
This definition has stuck with me and when I start to complain…it flashes like a neon light in my mind! With this new mindset about what complaining means to me, it was heavy on my heart to learn how to move forward in the work world when around complainers.
Complainers have been around for a long time even in the Bible! Go read Numbers and you will observe complaining by the Israelite’s at its very best! These complaints were against Moses which in-turn were against God’s ways!
We humans like predictability, we want things to be easy and comfortable. Many complaints come from fear of change. Having experienced this first hand in my life, puts me in a situation that is challenging and my first instinct is to complain about it!
We want it all figured out for us and if a struggle of change shows it’s ugly little head, verbal rebellion appears.
As leaders who strive to influence their teams, how do we have a voice among the complainers?
An important thing to know is the voice of the complainer is not always a measurement of right or wrong. As leaders, we must stand firm in what we are advocating for change, even if we are the minority voice.
Let’s say you are striving for change with your teams on communication, you reveal the process and immediately verbal rebellions come alive! If you truly support this system of improvement and believe in it, stand firm!
Many times leaders may need to stand alone while the process marinates until the complainers have a change of mindset. This often takes some time so don’t give up on your vision of change to the complainers.
How do we deal with the complaints?
Communicate! We need to listen and then acknowledge them and ask open ended questions pertaining to their complaint. Get them talking more and really listen with intention and attention. A good visual is to jump in the “mud puddle” complaint with them. Learn to develop some empathy and really care for your teams as you listen.
Does this fix the complaint?
Not always, but it helps diffuse the anger or calm the fear to change – it shows that we care as their leader! It starts to build rapport and a bond between you and your colleague.
When complaints come from your teams, think of Moses. He cared for the Israelites so so much! He jumped in the mud puddle with them so many times. Even when they tried to replace him as a leader and complained about everything happening in the desert, he still intervened in prayer for them.
He was humble and begged God not to punish the Israelites harshly. His love for God was first and the greatest… then he really really loved and cared for his people.
Our character and love as a leader should reflect that of Moses. #pray
Don’t let complaints stop you from leading in a way that would honor our God. Leaders need courage to have effective change combined with words and actions!
When we show we care as leaders by jumping in the mud puddle and really listen with empathy…they will follow us!
Stay Rooted,
Lisa and Heather
