5 Benefits: How to Be Less Critical

•  Become a Magnet – People are generally attracted to more positive people.  When someone only complains all the time or is critical of others it can become a drain on any relationship personal or at work.
• Be a Strong Leader – Complaining to your team undermines your credibility with them.  It gives your team members permission to act the same way.  Strong leaders provide a balance of accountability and empathy.  Accountability starts with yourself and then trickles down to your team.
• Get Things Done – Don’t mistake not being critical with not having high standards for results.  Being less critical is more about empowering your team and building confidence, that means knowing the best place for coaching.  It means letting someone save face and it means repositioning a mistake or sub-optimal result into a learning moment.
• Learn More & Grow – Being critical or complaining shuts down any conversation.  By reserving judgement and not criticizing, condemning or complaining, you will be able to better learn the whole story and that will allow you to better understand problems.
• Team Player – If you are working towards a promotion or a raise, it’s important to be known as a team player.  That means supporting others, coaching, and having a positive attitude – even when things are tough.  People with reputations as complainers or those that condemn others don’t build coalitions which are necessary for advancement.

Access all 30 Dale Carnegie principles in a convenient PDF guide, Dale Carnegie’s Secrets of Success.