Don’t Let Your Own Whining Or Complaining Dampen Your Personal Leadership

Silvia Damiano
2 min read

When people continuously complain, it affects those around them. Not only does it dampen the enthusiasm in a workplace, but collaboration and innovation are often forgotten in this negative atmosphere. People usually have lots of excuses (it’s the season, it’s a birthday coming up, or a million other things), but quality leaders shouldn’t indulge in this type of behavior.

Are You A Holiday Grinch Or A Birthday Grump?

Do you anticipate the arrival of fall? The cooler air, the changing leaves? Or maybe you can’t wait for the sweet song of spring, and the new baby birds chirping at the sun. Or maybe you love the heat of summer or the brisk cold of winter. Whatever the case, some people have trouble adapting to the changing seasons, and this can bring out the worst in people.

To be an effective leader, you must have strong collaboration skills, and you also have to be able to inspire others around you. Being the strong-handed ‘do it my way’ manager of old is long gone in this Imagination Age. So, ask yourself, do you become a complainer during certain times of the year?

Talking about our problems is our greatest addiction. Break the habit. Talk about your joys.

Rita Schiano

As a leader, you achieve more when you are able to create an environment conducive to collaboration. Negative attitudes, whining and complaining do not create a climate that invites inspiration. Instead, people will be less likely to take risks, more cautious, and collaboration will be stifled.

Break The Cycle Of Complaining And
Embrace Thankfulness

It’s only natural to become frustrated and to complain about those frustrations. Sometimes things just don’t go right, and it can be enough to make even the calmest person upset. Seasonal moodiness can only compound matters. Being able to control those emotions is what separates okay leaders from great leaders. Which one do you want to be?

Our world has rapidly changed in the past few decades, and globalization is required to run a successful business. However, all of us need to develop a more collaborative mindset to be a successful leader in this new world. Your subconscious dynamics may cause you to see and act through the limbic part of the brain, responsible for fast, emotional and instinctive emotional reactions.. We have been conditioned to catch ourselves (and others!) when something goes wrong, but this will not encourage your brain to move away from the ‘survival mode’ of thinking.

It’s Time To Stop Making Excuses. Avoid Complaining Or Comparing

When you inspire others, you bind together a team to see your passion and vision. Our knowledge of neuroscience is helping us understand how our brains behave in survival mode, and how inspiration is easily forgotten in an environment that isn’t conducive to mingling with others and exchanging thoughts and ideas.

But you can change. You can make an effort to learn about new approaches to leadership, how to rewire your brain to see other perspectives and how to break away from the survival mode of living. You can stop complaining and be appreciative of everything that you DO have. It’s up to each of us to create a different atmosphere to the one that we usually complain about.

Originally posted on: 29 March 2018
Last updated on: 17 March 2024

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Silvia Damiano

Silvia Damiano

Founder & CEO
About my Brain Institute

Scientist, educator, author, speaker, coach, award-winning leadership specialist, filmmaker and creator of the i4 Neuroleader Model & Methodology.

Silvia's scientific background and curiosity about the human brain led her to a decade long journey of research into optimal brain functioning and the application of neuroscience in leadership and daily life. Her past and current roles have uniquely prepared her for the current undertaking, that of leadership activist & change agent.

Silvia Damiano founded The About my Brain Institute in 2009, with the purpose of democratising leadership & neuroscience. She has a passionately held belief, that leaders in our 21st century global economy and their organisations must radically change long-held ideas of what constitutes effective leadership

In her ground-breaking books ‘Leadership is Upside Down’, ‘Brain-Friendly Leadership’ and the 2018 documentary ‘Make Me A Leader’, Silvia provides both compelling evidence and explores the importance of leadership in our personal and professional lives and what it takes to develop the human behind the leader.

Silvia has worked in different countries, across many industries, helping teams and organisations improve business performance. Silvia’s clients have described her as a passionate, dynamic, a highly experienced speaker and master facilitator on the topics of Emotional Intelligence, Cultural Change, Neuroleadership & Engagement.

Silvia is passionate about leaving a legacy of well-rounded leaders who can act and decide in a way that better serves humanity. Her clients include Microsoft, Australian Stock Exchange, NSW Government, VISA, Fuji Xerox and Manpower amongst many other global companies.

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