mgpcpastor's blog

The notion of a ‘No Complaining Rule’ is not to stifle dissent or even questioning of leadership.
I’ve pointed out for years that no one has the spiritual gift of pointing out a problem.
Pointing out a problem is not a gift, it’s just stating the obvious.
Pretty much any idiot can point out a problem.
The spiritual gifting, the presence of wisdom is manifest in being able to identify a solution or an improvement to a problematic situation.

From a guest post at What’s Best Next Jon Gordon shares what he learned from Dwight Cooper:

Dwight told me of a book he read about dealing with jerks and energy vampires in the work place. But after reading and reflecting on the book he realized that when it comes to building a positive, high performing work environment there was a much more subtle and far more dangerous problem than jerks. It was complaining and more subtle forms of negativity and he knew he needed a solution.
Dwight compared jerks to a kind of topical skin cancer. They don’t hide. They stand right in front of you and say, “here I am.” As a result you can easily and quickly remove them. Far more dangerous is the kind of cancer that is subtle and inside your body. It grows hidden beneath the surface, sometimes slow, sometimes fast, but either way if not caught, it eventually spreads to the point where it can and will destroy the body. Complaining and negativity is this kind of cancer to an organization and Dwight had seen it ruin far too many. He was determined not to become another statistic and The No Complaining Rule was born.
The fact is every leader and business will face negativity, energy vampires and obstacles to define themselves and their team’s success. That is why one of the most important things we can do in business and life is to stay positive with strategies that turn negative energy into positive solutions. Thus the goal is not to eliminate all complaining; just mindless, chronic complaining. And the bigger goal is to turn justified complaints into positive solutions. After all, every complaint represents an opportunity to turn something negative into a positive.

So, when you see a problem:
Is it really a problem, an impediment to mission and ministry, or is it something you simply don’t like?
Can you identify a solution to remove the impediment or make the situation more effective?
If you can’t, are you bringing the situation forward in a way that makes it clear that you believe the team has (or can obtain) the resources to constructively deal with the situation?