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Usually what complainers complain about has nothing to do with why they are unhappy. Way too often frustration with people is pointed at circumstance rather than trying to productively sort out the conflicts between the individuals.
And here is where management usually fails. A person complains about unrealistic time plans or how crappy a product will be, so management jumps into action and invent over elaborate processes around securing deadlines and quality, rather than splitting up the dysfunctional team that can't / refuses to cooperate and therefore is always late and produces sub-par quality. And the team will still be late and produce bad quality, and the complainers will still complain.
Yes, I've seen this!
Then they fire the dysfunctional team, but the problem was the incompetent management.
Good managers listen and try to understand the difference between a person complaining because they’re closer to the problem and a person complaining because they are the problem.
I would say that people who complain generally do it because they are not happy. Nobody purposely do it as a way to get attention. Nobody says "I will make sure to bother everybody so that they hate me, because I love it".
Doesn't mean they are not the problem: sometimes they are, sometimes they aren't. So I join you on:
> Good managers listen and try to understand the difference between a person complaining because they’re closer to the problem and a person complaining because they are the problem.
I have seen people complain because they somehow hated their coworkers (they had a very different view of what "good code" meant). A good manager would look for a solution, like moving them in different teams. A bad manager doesn't act (it's useless to listen if you don't act on it).
This is why I hate managing people - I hate having to deal with all the egos and trying to empathize with everyone to try to get a sense of where they are coming from just to judge what's important or not, and weighing political impact of different calls. Code is simple by comparison.
My most productive time is when a manager is honest and willing to explain how the whole thing fits together.
To answer the original question: It's a bit like in romantic relationships. Trying to change personalities of others is a tough game (usually not worth it).
Often there isn't actually a fire, they're complaining about trivialities. Everybody already knows about the fire because they've complaining about at every meeting for three months. Or the thing they are complaining about can't be changed. They're actually getting sidelined because they interrupt company allhands to ask the CEO irrelevant questions, wasting the time of 50 people and no one likes them anymore.
I view dealing with chronic complainers as mentoring them to stop self-sabotaging themselves.
I feel like establishing a hierarchy may make sense here: "This person is the architect, you are not. You may disagree and make technical arguments to them, but at the end of the day, they take the decision and you have to follow it". Of course it means that the architect has to actually listen to the technical arguments, and not go "I'm the architect, I'm better, just shut up".
The best managers build consensus and try to avoid people digging in behind 'their' solutions. This is hard work.
Don't get me started on that one. And its close cousin, correctness vs speed.
I see that as the difference and when it becomes complaining and toxic.
> Complaining is not a character flaw; it is a response shaped by context, past experiences, and unmet needs such as recognition, belonging, or agency. When leaders interpret complaint only as negativity, they risk silencing the very signals that reveal what people care about. By seeing complaints as expressions of care in disguise, leaders can move beyond irritation and instead use inquiry to uncover underlying concerns, redirect energy, and invite ownership. In this way, what begins as frustration can become the raw material for contribution and engagement.
Sometimes it is. I was complaining a lot, but then someone had enough and explained to me that it isn't productive (complaining about every minor annoyance) and makes people not like me. Now I'm not complaining so much, only when I know how to change something or that it really needs to be changed. My life got a little better.
> Calling someone a complainer is corporate-speak for “they noticed the fire before leadership did.”
Just so I'm being crystal clear: I was pointing out that the article already addressed OP's statement.
I should also point out that your own comment doesn't refute the article. You just followed the article's advice for yourself rather than for a subordinate (which is fine).
I strongly disagree. Noticing the fires is often trivial. Complaining... It depends. Complaining constructively is fine. Complaining for the sake of complaining gets annoying very fast.
Also... People that spend a lot of time complaining are usually that aren't capable of making things happen anyway. They can only see the limitations.
I avoid those people I noticed they just bring down my mental focus.
The only sure fire way to avoid this label being applied unjustly is always bring solutions, not complaints. Document your solutions and let it rest if leadership doesn't agree.