Management Tip of the Day: Stop the whining!

A porter carries luggage past a group of reception staff that are reflected in the floor as they stand in the foyer of the five-star rated Sofitel Hotel in Beijing November 19, 2007.

BOSTON (Reuters) - If you want to institute a "no whining" rule in your organization, there are two mindsets to encourage in your people, says Harvard Business Review.

The Management Tip of the Day offers quick, practical management tips and ideas from Harvard Business Review and HBR.org (http:\\www.hbr.org). Any opinions expressed are not endorsed by Reuters.

"We're all grown-ups here, right? Then why do teams still whine? It's part of the human condition to complain, but it doesn't have to derail your group.

When people on your team get frustrated and need a sympathetic ear, do the following:

1. Insist on accountability. Don't allow people to present a problem without attempting a solution. Advise them to do what they think is necessary to achieve results.

2. Encourage positivity. If the whining is about fellow teammates, encourage the group to work with each other to better understand the nature of the problem, and then create a joint solution. Remind them that most people aren't intentionally difficult."

- Today's management tip was adapted from "The No Whining Rule for Managers" by Ron Ashkenas.

(For the full post and to join the discussion, see: "The No Whining Rule for Managers" by Ron Ashkenas.