“People can be divided into 2 groups: one that goes ahead and achieves something, and one that comes after and criticizes.” – Seneca
Let us look at this quote through the lens of business and leadership as it has serious application at work.
This quote is bigger than you might think. For those who strive to achieve tend to always strive to act on ideas and make things happen while those who tend to criticize always tend to only critique and criticize. This means that this is not only a behavior but an orientation to the world for many people. This is who they have become. At the workplace, the perpetual criticizers are the Small Thinkers- “That sounds like a crazy idea.” (Said in an Eeyore voice.) The Naysayers “I don’t think that will work.” The Cynics- “We tried that already a few years back.” And the Pokers- Upon cursory inspection “Let me tell you why that will not work.) Do not be these people. Be the people that think new thoughts, organize them, and make them happen- also known as leadership.
There are too many mediocre executives in corporations that believe that their highest and seemingly only contribution to the organization is to always point out what is not right or what will not work regarding other people’s ideas when their highest calling is leadership, coming up with vision and new ideas and execution while teaching and developing others. And of course, included within leadership is critically analyzing the business and potential solutions. However, it is not the only thing—this is when it becomes bad for business. People who only criticize after the fact are lazy, negative and offer little value as often they are only pointing out the obvious.
Do what excellent leaders do:
- Protect the deviant voice/your team member who see things differently; let them speak and be heard.
- See what is right about an idea before you see what is wrong with it. At least explore the idea and if it has legs, add value to it and see what comes out of it.
- When your team members come to you with a problem, make sure they know they need to produce a solution as well— as anyone can complain about what is wrong. In fact, if you want to do this to the next level of excellence, have them always bring 3 potential solutions, the pros & cons of each solutions along with a recommendation for the best idea. If you do this consistently you will truly nurture a continuous improvement mindset throughout your team.
- Follow through and finish strong. It is amazing to me how many initiatives in organizations are not ever fully completed or completed to a high-level of quality. Ideas are great, but making the idea manifest is the important part. (See Seinfeld’s rant on taking and keeping a rental car reservation.)
- Ensure that when your team members make mistakes, they are mistakes of falling forward, they learn from these mistakes and keep moving towards greatness.
To drive this point home, see Teddy Roosevelt quote on this topic.