Dealing with Complaints

A complaint is a call to action. Take it.

Our pastor, Warren Napier, yesterday offered an unusual call to action during his sermon: go 24 hours without complaining. Look at the positive side, keep yourself busy, take productive action, reframe the situation...do whatever you need to do but do not complain.

It sounds easy, but I was hardly out of the church parking lot when I felt a complaint coming on about something that happened around Saturday night's show in a play I'm acting in. I caught myself (or did I?) but the thought then occurred to me that whether or not I voiced the complaint, something should be done.

Maybe I don't need to trouble anyone else about it, but for it to bubble up as something I found disturbing meant that I should take some action to deal with it. Otherwise, the issue stays (and grows).

A complaint is a call to action. Take it.

It's not enjoyable to receive a complaint. We will sometimes do anything to avoid doing anything about it. Sometimes I wonder why the person who is making the complaint doesn't just do something about it and leave me alone. Do you ever feel that way?

But there is a reason that someone is complaining to you (or that you are feeling the need to complain yourself). There is an issue waiting to be dealt with. Now you have choices. How will you handle the complaint?

Is doing nothing a good idea? What are the side-effects of avoiding the issue?

Is taking charge your best choice? When would you want to own a complaint and take charge of how it is handled?

What would it look and sound like to generate a create conversation about finding a solution with the person who is lodging the complaint? What advantages does that present?

When would it make sense to simply listen compassionately to the complaint and let the complainer take the next step? How could you encourage that next step?

A complaint is a call to action. Figure out which action is most likely to lead to an optimal solution, and take it.

-- Douglas Brent Smith

Learn more in the workshop: Supervising for Success

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