Hug a Deviant Today

Avoid Group Think: If you don’t have a naysayer on your team it’s time to go out and find one.

There’s always at least one member of your team who refuses to go along with the rest. While your natural inclination may be to stifle him or her or even eliminate them from the team, the fact is, every successful team needs at least one deviant.

In a Harvard Business Review interview titled “Why Teams Don’t Work,” Harvard Professor, J. Richard Hackman debunks many long-held beliefs about the wisdom of teams.

On the subject of the value of having naysayers on a team, he provides convincing evidence that to be successful, every team needs someone who is willing to ask the tough questions. “In our research, we’ve looked at teams that produced something original and those that were merely average, where nothing really sparkled. It turned out that the teams with deviants outperformed teams without them. In many cases, deviant thinking is the source of great innovation.”

Hackman also points out that the person who questions the status quo does so at their own peril.

I know that from personal experience. When I was a supervisor and would raise a question or voice a concern in a management meeting as to whether we were making the best decision, I noticed two distinct reactions: anger on the part of those who were invested in “This Is The Way to Go ” and gratitude from those who were thinking the same thing I was, but didn’t want to be the one to articulate it.

This week, hug the deviant in your group.

Make it a great week.

Barbara Burke

(Look for the next Monday Aha!on 10/10/11.)