When Always Playing Equals Not Playing
When someone always plays devil’s advocate, they are not playing anything – they are a detractor, a nay-sayer, a progress-stopper. To be clear, healthy debate and discussion about a topic is healthy. Very healthy. But two things: There is a time and place for healthy debate, and once a decision is made, we move on collectively – even those with dissenting opinions. And, if someone is regularly “playing” the role of devil’s advocate, they aren’t playing.
Learning: If someone is always playing “Devil’s Advocate,” share this with them and see what they come back with on the following topic. That will tell you if it was a behavior they were unaware of or if they can’t help but be the critic. If the latter, then ask them to lead the next topic.
Have you ever seen this behavior before? If so, we’d love to hear from you.