As sales leaders, we’ve all come across the career pessimist – the person whose glass is always half-empty.

Whingers

Nevertheless, dealing with a whinger on your team can be frustrating and time-consuming. Indeed, attempts to ignore or counter frequent negative comments may simply incite further negativity if the pessimist is an attention-seeker.

It’s important to discover the underlying reason for the negative behaviour: some people simply have a pessimistic disposition while others may be harbouring some undisclosed resentment or feeling out of their depth, perhaps because of a lack of knowledge or skill.

Removal from team

Experts and seasoned managers agree that, if a team member is continually disruptive and does not respond to coaching or feedback, you may ultimately need to remove him or her from the team. Sometimes people are not a good fit and it’s the leader’s job to make that judgement.

Room for dissent?

Equally, it’s also vital to remember that the goal here is not to eradicate all feedback and questions. Not all negativity is bad, despite how it may sound and feel to the manager, and the views of so-called ‘whingers’ can often be well-informed, rational and based on legitimate concerns.

We all need dissenting voices to check our assumptions and push our ideas but we must take action if the pessimist’s behaviour is de-railing the progress of a project or team.

Source : The Chartered Institute of Marketing

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