Somebody's Complaining. You Need to Listen.
It happens. You’ve heard them. People make comments that are less than complimentary, even disparaging. You don’t want to listen. You want to turn it off. You want to find some “yes” people and tune into them. But what you must do is listen.
If you’re leading your organization in any way, you must find ways to understand how people are hearing and experiencing your message, product and/or service. You may think you’re nailing it, but your guest/client gets to the be judge of how well you’re doing. Perception matters. Listen.
If one person is willing to make the observation (that’d be the complaint), ten more people may be thinking the same thing. They just didn’t have the courage to say so. You must listen.
The person complaining may not understand your values, methods or language, but if you’ll listen, you may learn what people are actually hearing from you and your organization—even if you don’t intend to communicate it. You can learn. You must learn
There’s usually at least a grain of truth—even if the complaint is riddled with emotion and misinformed statements. Find the nugget. Listen for it, then act on it.
Often people who share legitimate concerns are people who can help bring solutions to your systems and organization. Enlist their help.
One more thought - if you’re the one making a complaint, have the courage to use your name. When you do, conversation can be constructive and helpful. When you don’t, you’re acting cowardly and your comment is likely to be taken that way. Own it, respectfully. Open dialog focused on mutually beneficial outcomes can reveal blind spots and pathways to improvement.
Again, if you’re positioned to hear complaints, shut up already and listen.
