Making a Bad Decision to Avoid the Agony of Complaint
Unless a decision favors them or matches their preference, some team members are prone to whine, complain, and grouse at what they believe is a bad call. Over time, the weight of this discord becomes an anchor of discomfort for leaders and decision-makers.
Some leaders will do anything to avoid the painful conversation of ill-tempered complaint.
In order to circumvent the predictable whining they will have to endure, these leaders allow the anti-social behavior to influence the decision they make. They purposely make a different choice just to avoid the torment of listening to the colleague gripe.
Leaders will often rationalize the altered decision by telling themselves (and others) this is the best course of action and the path of least resistance.
But the price they pay to avoid the conflict is steep. The choice to compromise on any decision can have a dramatic impact on what others do in the future when they, too, are unhappy with a decision.
Once they allow the grip of discord to alter their choices, these leaders compromise their future decision-making. If the squeaky wheel gets oiled, the lesson learned on the team is to complain loudly whenever a decision is disagreeable. Odds are the leader can be swayed in their extreme desire to avoid the discomfort of complaint. The evidence is clear-cut. Why not give it a shot?
When leaders allow the distaste of a complaining colleague to influence their decision-making, they betray their principles and erode their credibility with the rest of the team.
Worse yet, they inadvertently encourage more whining and complaining from others. Ironically, in an attempt to avoid grief, they get a lot more of it.
Having the courage to weather uncomfortable conversations with those who disagree with their decisions goes hand-in-hand with leadership. Refusing to amend any decision because others grouse about it goes with the territory.
The best decision might be to conclude that any team member who consistently refuses to accept decisions by complaining loudly and incessantly might be better off on another team.
Some whiners are too much for any leader to endure.
The skill is to try and include people in the decision making process to that their views are heard.
After all, we don’t want to end up surrounding ourselves with only favourable voices either.
A decision should be made with high input from a team but with the decision intimately sitting with one person who needs to weigh the decision against agreed criteria.
I believe if people feel listened to you can then take on their view but also make a decision that doesn’t fit with everyone’s views.