Did you read the article Dealing with the Complainer in the Boardroom? An article written by
Minda Zetlin (Aug 20, 2012) says that listening to complainers is actually bad for our brains. She writes
It turns out there’s a good reason: Listening to too much complaining is bad for your brain in multiple ways, according to Trevor Blake, a serial entrepreneur and author of Three Simple Steps: A Map to Success in Business and Life. In the book, he describes how neuroscientists have learned to measure brain activity when faced with various stimuli, including a long gripe session.
“The brain works more like a muscle than we thought,” Blake says. “So if you’re pinned in a corner for too long listening to someone being negative, you’re more likely to behave that way as well.”
Even worse, being exposed to too much complaining can actually make you dumb. Research shows that exposure to 30 minutes or more of negativity–including viewing such material on TV–actually peels away neurons in the brain’s hippocampus. “That’s the part of your brain you need for problem solving,” he says “Basically, it turns your brain to mush.”
In the full article Dealing with the Complainer in the Boardroom, I outline several ways to deal with the complainer. These include
- Refrain from solving the complainer’s problems
- Ask open-ended questions
- Pay attention to him
- Remain neutral
- Ask for specifics
- Pay attention to the details, and
- Develop an action plan
It is unfortunate but board members can reap benefits from complaining. These include getting attention and gaining perks. Complaining is often seen as negative and can be very wearing on the board. Fortunately, there are ways to constructively handle complainers without allowing them to derail the board’s agenda.
