You know the Fault-Finder. I’m sure you’ve encountered them along your leadership path.
He or she crouches in meetings, waiting for some unsuspecting prey to offer up a new or creative idea. Then they lean back in their conference room chair, and fold their arms across their chest. They whisper something to the person next to them, causing that person to smile nervously.
They know their prey is ripe for attack.
They wait for that delicate moment when the person delivering the new idea says something wrong, and they pounce like a cat on the new idea, tearing it apart with their sarcasm and counting on everybody’s fear of change to back them up.
Sadly, the weak people in the room do back them up. Maybe because they think the Fault-Finder is cool, or because they like the fact that they’re fighting change. I’m not sure which.
Here’s three qualities of a Fault-Finder:
I wish that every leader would ask the following of the person finding fault:
Okay, you obviously found a hole in the plan. Now I ask you, what would be your solution to this problem?
Forcing Fault-Finders to offer something constructive is often like throwing water on the Wicked Witch. They tend to melt into the floor, reiterating the flaw while melting.
Leaders should be aware that sometimes the weakest members of their team are damaging the creative, risk-oriented top-performers.
Never let a Fault-Finder kill a new idea. Defend the creative, and encourage constructive problem-solving. Reward the best solution, and you’ll raise your team up.
Reward the Fault-Finder, and you’ll raze your results.
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[…] Knight Fault-Finder, who thought very highly of himself, spoke up: “Well, I think once we have more servants to do the day-to-day work, we will need to be elevated in our status. Many of us need new titles to properly reflect how many more people we will have working for us. We would like to be called Senior Knights, which will make you a much more acclaimed queen.” […]