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Hi everyone! I hope you’re all doing well and staying safe during the holiday season. I wanted to take a moment to highlight a role that I’m hiring for - Sr. Learning & Talent Development Partner. If you’re interested, I’ve added to the Fishbowl jobs board - https://joinfishbowl.com/job_rpc2p5vsvq. Feel free to reach out directly if you’d like to chat. :)
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I find these people are excellent at poking holes in projects/processes. I try to give them opportunities where their main task is to find the flaws and ask questions that no one is asking. It gives them a great outlet for a misunderstood skill and gives them an opportunity to also point out the wins when the flaws they find are addressed.
Rising Star
Agreed, IF they're not only kvetching and complaining but are also offering better ideas or solutions.
Depends on style, but generally someone who always comes up with why something won't work without recommendations to help make it work are annoying and get labeled. Questions are fine - pointing out problems without offering solutions is borderline just whining.
Some places greet this type of feedback with open arms. They see it as a way to provide perspective and avoid group thought. Others simply see it as push back and negatively and will react as such. It is important to know what kind of organization you are in.
Rising Star
It's also important to not just criticize and complain about everything without offering solutions. What OP described is not constructive criticism and doesn't just "provide perspective" if it's only criticism and complaints.
It’s workplace politics in real time! People get labelled “negative”, “difficult”, or “hard to work with” because it often comes down to timing, communication style and working relationships. Constructive feedback is easier to receive when there is trust and emotional intelligence behind it. But when feedback feels more like constant scrutiny, defensiveness and conflict emerge.
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I think such a person IS negative if all they raise are "difficult but valid concerns." Do they ever say anything positive about anything?
People who go directly to problems with everything are, in fact, negative. Especially if they are "consistently" doing it.
When a person is surrounded with nothing but problems and avoidance, Negatively is often how they are viewed. Their truth shatteres the glass house the Avoidants moved into. From your comment, HR is no longer a good fit for you.
I see it differently. Valid concerns are important, but so is how they’re communicated. Have we considered coaching the person’s delivery? An “even better if…” approach can raise issues constructively. You can be honest without being negative, and persistent negativity can often breed more negativity.
One responsibility of a leader is balancing the need to make space for healthy discussions, where concerns and questions can be discussed openly - and the consensus point, where a final decision has been made. Consensus doesn't mean everyone agrees, but it should be understood that all should be moving in the same direction. It needs to be clearly communicated up front that any and all perspectives are welcome up until the consensus point. Even the biggest detractors are expected to be on the same page. The exception of course is new information or an unexpected issue.
I’ve learned to ask “how can I be helpful?” When someone brings me a problem. That allows them to tell me if they want advice or just some support in a transactional way. When suggesting improvements I focus on the benefit vs over-describing the problem. “This has been wrong for 2 years” hits differently than “I think if we tried this it might result in this…” unless it’s compliance or law and in that case I’m very clear and specific and I cite my sources and put it in writing.