People who lack talent for engaging opposing views sometimes claim to act as devil’s advocate to bring out the other side. Sadly we’ve inserted devil’s advocate roles into sacred-cow-structures that cling to traditions and kill innovation. The problem?
Lack of sincerity and missed opportunities rob progress for creating together.
In contrast to pretending you hold positions you don’t believe for the sake of argument, what if you opt for a caring catalyst’s stance, instead?
Devil’s Advocate or Charing Challenger?
Would cynicism and other workplace toxins decrease if we challenged broken systems by proposing innovative opportunities?
What if we exchanged workplace strategies that tear down – such as “devil’s advocate” roles – for promoters of an innovative process that leads opposing views forward together?
Could the shift to caring challenger offer much more innovative segues into wider workplace profits?
Susan Alexander illustrates how to articulate good ideas – and then extend personal views with wisdom on the other sides.
Why do we settle for Devil’s Advocate?
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1). We lack skills to engage opposites.
2). We learned to live devil rather than angel parts of brain.
3). We miss pathways to genius and so settle for less.
4). We allow myths of aging brains to prevent novel wisdom.
5). We forget to chase what if questions that improve process.
6).We compete in ways thatdestroy cooperation tank growth.
7). We let greatness fizzle through lack of persistence.
8). We miss the unforced rhythms of grace.
These are all valid arguments and reasons why we settle for Devil’s advocate. They are not really pleasant to read, especially because all of us can find ourselves in those words.