Get a Naysayer and Keep Them Close
I still remember the conference call when I heard a team member spout, "Nay, I say, nay!" While I took a moment to recover from my laughter on mute, everyone knew that this comment wasn't a joke. This was a respected team member that contributed real progress to our team goals. He was pointing out a critical flaw that would delay delivery of a quality product.
At that moment I knew, every team should have at least one naysayer.
This idea is difficult to follow, fellow managers, but hang in there with me.
Your quest is to find competent people who have the emotional intelligence to say no respectfully but who also don't play the safe game with their career, your team, or your goals. These are not the people who "always present an alternate solution if they do point out a flaw in your plan." No, not those people. Those are 'A student' employees and I'll write about them at a different time. These naysayers are the people who are really, really good at their assigned job; they just don't color between the lines the rest of the time. They may be true curmudgeons during team meetings. They might be late, last, and incomplete with every non-critical work function that you ask from them. It will be clear that pleasing you completely as their manager is nowhere on their to-do list. #frustration
But, naysayers will sharpen you as a manager and you want at least one.
I had a naysayer once on my team that I first thought was spectacularly gifted at his job. He was truly great. He could be trusted with the most difficult work situations and he got along with everyone. Then the naysayer broke out.
We were at an in-person meeting and I was sitting next to him at a very large round table while the leader was talking. The speech was clearly unrehearsed by the leader, it was one of those "everyone go in X room in 10 minutes because the leader has something to say" moments. 'Splash zone' was clearly uttered as we all dutifully filed in to listen. The leader then lambasted the employees for not doing their jobs and admonished them to do better. The employee sitting next to me went from zero to physically throbbing in anger.
At the point when he threw his pen across the table, I knew we had crossed from intellectual disgust to physical anger and even though this person was probably 150 lbs heavier than me, I started calculating what Spock-like maneuvers I'd need to do to physically take him down before he made it to the stage.
Don't be concerned here, managers. We would go on to joke about this moment in the future. Fortunately, as good employees do when things get tough, he turned to me as his manager and allowed me to verbally calm him down right after the speech was done. I had so much cleaning up of psyches to do after that speech. Splash zone was a good metaphor after all. #managerfrustration
But I admired that my naysayer had the temerity to question authority so deeply. It is only because he listened so intently that he knew he had been spoken to in a disrespectful manner. Neither he, nor his team, were guilty of what was being thrown at us. While I wish he had not thrown the pen, there was no one on the other side of the table. Haven't we all felt frustration of some type before? Let he who has not felt frustration go pick up that pen.
This employee went on to be one of my most treasured team members. In a clutch, I knew exactly what my naysayer could and could not deliver. He became one of my most honest touchstones of my management. If he stayed in the mildly pissed off stage, I had him in the sweet spot. He'd stay honest, he'd keep me honest (no faking for a naysayer), and he'd be my true canary in the mine.
Here are 3 reasons why you want a naysayer:
- Naysayers keep managers informed. As much as any manager might have worked their way up from the front lines, the moment you become a manager, you start to be out of touch with what is happening with your clients. A naysayer has no ego to preserve for you and feels no 'the problem shall not be named' hesitation to tell you what's really going on. Use your naysayers to stay in touch with the front line. They will tell you exactly what is going on.
The naysayer will say "Voldemort" when no one else will.
2. Use your naysayers to bounce your ideas off of. I have a notebook on my desk where I scribble my most brilliant, often caffeine-fueled ideas that will solve my employers' greatest problems, end poverty, and bring world peace. It really is brilliant. No, you can't see the notebook. In my private 1:1s with naysayers, I crack open an idea from the notebook and see what happens. The most important part is here is the privacy and importance that you give the naysayer in that private space. They need to be heard. It's healthy for everyone to get the right message delivered in the right time at the right place. Yes, this is a manager CYA manuveur too. Use up their naysaying juice privately and they *might* have too few nays to give at that bigger meeting. #righttimerightplace
If a naysayer feels heard, they are going to pipe up in other meetings less often.
3. Pay attention when a naysayer does get excited. If a naysayer sees even a glimmer of hope in any idea, scream "Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner!" No, not out loud, mind you. Naysayers love shooting down ideas so if they don't find that an idea is a complete waste of time from start to finish, you've got something worth pursuing. They are your canary in the mine. But pay attention to frequency here. If your naysayer likes an idea that they traditionally hate, worry as to why your naysayer isn't saying nay. Something is really wrong. #Igottabadfeelingaboutthis #thatsnomoon
In summary, I hope you will embrace naysayers. They truly are the most honest and loyal employees because they are willing to pick the mountain that they'll die upon. They really are. They call things like they see them and are often the first to see the emperor naked.
At times when you are questioning your mountain to die upon, they will be behind you saying "Nay, not that one" when you might most need it.
Sincerely, the Online Manager, ~Heather Dodds
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This article originally posted on LinkedIn on April 19, 2019
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/get-naysayer-keep-very-close-heather-dodds