We’ve all heard it and know how whining makes the listener feel. It’s like fingernails on a chalk board! Whining doesn’t solve anything, although it does make everyone around the whiner miserable.

Whining is a form of exaggerated complaint without a solution; it’s purpose is to extract something from those within earshot (or ‘textshot’) in order to make it stop. It rarely works and, if it does, the quiet is only temporary. It’s unpleasant in children and intolerable in adults.

Life brings many challenges our way, including severe weather, economic cycles, supply chain issues, labor shortages, misunderstandings accidents, health matters and occasionally worse. Whining about them does not lessen them but only serves to inflict this pain on others. As the saying goes, misery loves company.

Whining within a business, or any organization, can spread like a disease and quickly become toxic. A leader’s role is to encourage healthy dialogue and, when challenges arise, to engage team members in figuring out and implementing proactive solutions. This approach is a productive and forward-looking expenditure of energy.

If you don’t like your circumstances, change them. Whining is a waste!

Tempus Maximize!