Your Team is Highly Optimistic

Complaining is an incredibly optimistic thing to do. Bringing up the same issue three meetings in a row is too. How, you ask? Just think about motivation for a moment. What this person on your team is saying, even if you don't like the way they're saying it is, "We could be doing this so much better than we are". Is that how you're hearing the angst on your team today?

Putting down those daily 'rebellions', whether you do that outwardly or in more subtle ways in your company culture, is a tragic waste of your best resource. Because there's literally nobody who sees the gaps better than your team. And the 'lower down' they are (which is almost always closer to your customers) the more clear their vision is.

You could say your most important job as a team leader is to do everything in your power to make it safe for them, and to support them in articulating what they see in a way they don't know to do yet. Listening to the voices of your junior staff is the lowest hanging fruit in your business right now.

There's only one catch to having all those perks. You have to learn to live with a little rebellion now and then. Because that's what optimism is. It's a little rebellion, a little post-it note that says 'we can do better'. If it comes in a constructive tone, that's gravy. But remember, the best optimists are often the worst politicians. They can't hide their frustration. They make noise because they can't not, because they'd rather get fired than do mediocre work.

You Have To Listen It Out Of Them

So, why not start helping them be more negative (aka Optimistic!). Here's five questions you can play around with:

• What's the thing you like about our business the least?
• What's the thing you dislike about your job the most?
• What's the thing that frustrates our current customers to no end?
• What's the one thing about our product or service you feel you have to apologize for?
• What's the one change you would make to our product or business if you were in charge?

All you have to do is open the door. And make it clear that you're interested in what they have to say. Your people want nothing more than to have this conversation with you, but they need to feel you're really interested in it being a new one.