Problem Solvers

I was in a leadership meeting about nine years ago.  One individual began to rail about this and rant against that.  Actually he was making a mountain out of a mole hill.  Waving his arms like a windmill in the wind, he waxed eloquent as he objected and complained.  When he got about halfway through his harangue, I interrupted him by asking, “What positive alternative do you offer?”  He stopped and stared at me in silence.  He looked confused.  Finally he asked, “What do you mean?”  I repeated myself, “What positive alternative do you offer as a solution?  You’ve sat there all this time pointing out all that you think is wrong around here, but you have not offered as much as a single idea on how to remedy the situation to your liking.  This apparently bothers you, even though it doesn’t bother anyone else, so what is your plan of remedy?”  Well, that took him back a bit because now he was being expected to do something other than fuss. 

Good leaders do more than complain; they offer solutions and fix things.