The Power of "Yes" vs Power of "No"

Have you ever sat in a meeting and after an idea is presented, someone chimes in with, “I hate to play the devil’s advocate here but…”

Grrrr that can grind our gears, am I right?  

People by nature have a fight or flight mode when challenged in any capacity.  And when it comes to our ideas, we typically fight to protect our own and struggle to be open to others.  Naturally when another idea is presented, our immediate reaction is to play devil's advocate and defend our idea that is different from the other. 

And what’s the impact to your employee or teammate when you shoot down their idea, albeit as politely as you could?  Do they come to you with more ideas? Do you find they like to work with you? Not likely. Did they leave motivated and empowered? Doubt it. 

There is substantial power in saying No.  Most people don’t recognize when and how they say No.  But have you explored the even stronger and more beneficial power of saying Yes?  This one simple word is the basis for much of our customized training as it can change the tone of a meeting, a team, and a company to work better together and achieve more.  Its not easy. It goes against our natural “fight” state when someone opposes our way of thinking. Its why we are hired to help people and teams train this way. Saying yes is a way to let your team members or employees know that you have heard them and that the things they say are valuable. It may not always be a home-run but could it be the start of the next big idea? You won’t know if you shoot it down immediately.  

With a lot of meetings going virtual these next couple weeks, use this time to make an effort to say yes in your team meetings and add feedback with “and…”.  

Share with us in the comments below a time when your idea was either supported or shot down and what it meant to you.  Our challenge this week to you – say yes to an idea someone presents to you at work and let us know how it went.