From the courtroom to the boardroom, Linda Byars Swindling knows firsthand about high-stakes communication, negotiating workplace drama, and influencing decision makers. Linda is a keynote speaker and the author of Stop Complainers and Energy Drainers, a power resource to deflect negative personalities in the workforce.

According to Linda, 78% of people spend at least 3-6 hours a week in a 40-hour work week on complainers and 11% of people have quit their jobs because they've worked with a negative person that actively affected their health and productivity. Chances are, you've faced a complainer in the workforce too and this is all the more reason why you have to listen to today's episode on strategic ways to deflect these negative personality types. Linda goes into great detail on the five types of complainers and what some of their common tendencies are.

 

Key Takeaways:

[2:35] What is Linda's background?

[4:15] Ask a lot of questions and then shut your mouth and listen!

[6:00] Sometimes you need to have a lawsuit, but in Linda's experience, it could have been avoided if they just listened to one another.

[7:35] Why is it important to find out what kind of complainer somebody is?
[9:00] Linda breaks down the five complainer types: The Whiners, 'Complicators', Prima Donnas, Controllers, and the Toxics.

[10:45] Avoid the Toxics at all cost! They're usually narcissistic.

[12:15] The reality is that we all complain and we have different ways of doing it.

[13:10] Let's dive into each category by first starting off with what the Whiners tend to do.

[17:30] How do you deal with a Whiner?

[23:00] How much time are we wasting on complainers in the workforce?

[26:00] Would you turn down a raise of $10,000 if you knew you had to work with an energy drainer? 73% of people would.

[26:30] Have you ever left a job because of a negative person? I know I have!

[26:50] Top performers are the ones who end up leaving because they have more options available to them and they don't need to deal with negative people in their life.

[27:35] Whiners tend to be the most common, but that doesn't mean they're the most problematic out of the five.

[28:50] Let's break down what the Complicators tend to do.

[32:05] Complicators focus on keeping things stable. They don't like change.

[34:45] What happens if your boss is a Complicator?

[35:40] What does a Prima Donna tend to do in a work environment?

[36:00] They love a large audience!

[37:55] A Prima Donna would rather have a negative reputation just to be seen and heard.

[43:05] Complainers want to gain control in a negative way.

[43:45] Controllers are the bullies.

[46:35] Controllers are much more aggressive compared to the others.

[47:20] How do you stand up to these bullies, especially if they're in a position of power?

[51:00] Let's talk about the Toxics. They are the hardest to read because they are all of these things.

[51:55] Toxics are only about 5% of our management.

[54:30] How can you spot a Toxic?

 

Ambition Quote:

"Success is a journey, not a destination."- Ben Sweetland

 

Connect with Linda:

Website

Linda on LinkedIn

Text: 42828 and then type in ASK

www.stopcomplainers.com/

Stop Complaining by Linda Swindling

 

Linda's Recommended Resources:

One Minute Manager by Ken Blanchard and Spencer Johnson

Getting to Yes by William Ury, Roger Fisher, and Bruce Patton

 

Leave Me a Review:

If you enjoyed this episode, please help me by leaving an honest review on iTunes. Your feedback is important to me. And while you’re at it, don’t forget to subscribe to the Show.

On iTunes On Stitcher