Calm Down Skeptics on Your Team by Openly Addressing the Opposition
When you work with people, nothing spoils your productive mood more than skeptics. If you want to keep their negativity to a minimum, deliberately ask everyone to show resistance so that they can get rid of it in their system.
Skeptics destroy a decent team environment because they put too much emphasis on doing something “right” (or their way) the first time. This prevents the work from actually developing and refining later. Jennifer Porter of Harvard Business Review invites you to stay ahead of them to help fight skeptics on your team:
Clearly ask for an objection. For each major decision, ask the team to consider reasons that conflict with prevailing opinion. By doing so, you normalize opposition and help the team see it as a regular and important part of the decision-making process.
You also avoid highlighting skeptics and further deteriorating their mood, and this allows them to get rid of the problems so that they feel like they are being heard. Once they know that their suggestions have been taken into account, they are likely to be more willing to help move forward and not stop progress.
Dealing with skepticism in your team ”wiki useful Harvard Business Review