I still remember the conference call when I heard a team This idea is difficult to follow, fellow managers, but hang in there with me.<\/span><\/p>\n Your quest is to find competent people who have the emotional These I had a naysayer once on my team that I first thought was We were at an in-person meeting and I was sitting next to him at a At the point when he threw his pen across the table, I knew we had Don’t be concerned here, managers. We would go on to joke about this moment in the future.<\/i> But I admired that my naysayer had the temerity to question authority so deeply. It is only because he listened so intently<\/u> This employee went on to be one of my most treasured team members. 2. Use your naysayers to bounce your ideas off of.<\/b> 3. Pay attention when a naysayer does<\/u> get excited.<\/b> If a naysayer sees even a glimmer of hope in any<\/i> idea, scream “Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner!” No, not out loud<\/i>,
\nmember spout, “Nay, I say, nay!” While I took a moment to recover from
\nmy laughter on mute, everyone knew that this comment wasn’t a joke. This
\n was a respected team member that contributed real progress to our team
\ngoals. He was pointing out a critical flaw that would delay delivery of a
\n quality product.<\/span><\/p>\n
\n At that moment I knew, every team should have at least one naysayer.
\n <\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\nintelligence to say no respectfully but who also don’t play the safe
\ngame with their career, your team, or your goals. These are not the
\npeople who “always present an alternate solution<\/i> if they do
\npoint out a flaw in your plan.” No, not those people. Those are ‘A
\nstudent’ employees and I’ll write about them at a different time. <\/p>\n
\nnaysayers are the people who are really, really good at their assigned
\njob; they just don’t color between the lines the rest of the time<\/i>. They may be true curmudgeons <\/b>during
\n team meetings. They might be late, last, and incomplete with every
\nnon-critical work function that you ask from them. It will be clear that
\n pleasing you completely as their manager is nowhere on their to-do
\nlist. <\/span><\/p>\n
\n But, naysayers will sharpen you as a manager and you want at least one.
\n <\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\nspectacularly gifted at his job. He was truly great. He could be trusted
\n with the most difficult work situations and he got along with everyone.
\n Then the naysayer broke out.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nvery large round table while the leader was talking. The speech was
\nclearly unrehearsed by the leader, it was one of those “everyone go in X
\n room in 10 minutes because the leader has something to say” moments.
\n‘Splash zone’ was clearly uttered as we all dutifully filed in to
\nlisten. The leader then lambasted the employees for not doing their jobs
\n and admonished them to do better. The employee sitting next to me went
\nfrom zero to throbbing in anger.<\/span><\/p>\n
\ncrossed from intellectual disgust to physical anger and even though this
\n person was probably 150 lbs heavier than me, I started calculating what
\n Spock-like maneuvers I’d need to do to physically take him down before
\nhe made it to the stage.<\/span><\/p>\n
\n Fortunately, as good employees do when things get tough, he turned to
\nme as his manager and allowed me to verbally calm him down right after
\nthe speech was done. I had so much cleaning up of psyches to do after
\nthat speech. Splash zone was a good metaphor after all. <\/span><\/p>\n
\n that he knew he had been spoken to in a disrespectful manner. Neither
\nhe, nor his team, were guilty of what was being thrown at us. While I
\nwish he had not thrown the pen, there was no one on the other side of
\nthe table. Haven’t we all felt frustration of some type before? Let he
\nwho has not felt frustration go pick up that pen.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nIn a clutch, I knew exactly what my naysayer could and could not
\ndeliver. He became one of my most honest touchstones of my management.
\nIf he stayed in the mildly pissed off stage, I had him in the sweet
\nspot. He’d stay honest, he’d keep me honest (no faking for a naysayer),
\nand he’d be my true canary in the mine.<\/span><\/p>\nHere are 3 reasons why you want a naysayer:<\/b><\/h3>\n
\n manager might have worked their way up from the front lines, the moment
\n you become a manager, you start to be out of touch with what is
\nhappening with your clients. A naysayer has no ego to preserve for you
\nand feels no ‘the problem shall not be named’ hesitation to tell you
\nwhat’s really going on. Use your naysayers to stay in touch with the
\nfront line. They will tell you exactly what is going on.<\/span><\/div>\n
\n The naysayer will say “Voldemort” when no one else will.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\n I have a notebook on my desk where I scribble my most brilliant, often
\ncaffeine-fueled ideas that will solve my employers’ greatest problems,
\nend poverty, and bring world peace. It really is brilliant. No, you
\ncan’t see it.
In my private 1:1s with naysayers, I crack open
\nan idea from the notebook and see what happens. The most important part
\nis here is the privacy and importance that you give the naysayer in that
\n private space. They need to be heard. It’s healthy for everyone to get
\nthe right message delivered in the right time at the right place. Yes,
\nthis is a manager CYA manuveur too. Use up their naysaying juice
\nprivately and they *might* have too few nays to give at that bigger
\nmeeting.<\/span><\/p>\n
\n If a naysayer feels heard, they are going to pipe up in
\n other <\/i>meetings less often.
\n <\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\n mind you. Naysayers love shooting down ideas so…if they don’t find that
\n an idea is a complete waste of time from start to finish, you’ve got
\nsomething worth pursuing. They are your canary in the mine. But pay
\nattention to frequency here. If your naysayer likes an idea that they
\ntraditionally hate, worry as to why your naysayer isn’t saying nay.
\nSomething is really wrong. #Igottabadfeelingaboutthis #thatsnomoon<\/span><\/p>\n
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1. <\/b>Naysayers keep managers informed.<\/b> As much as any
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