Critics are your main optimists
I’ve recently seen “The Social Dilemma” on Netflix.
This is not a review of the documentary or an opinion-piece.
One thing that stuck with me, taken from the last part of the movie, was the idea that the critics in your team are actually your biggest optimists.
How does that work?
In order to create your best work, you must first believe in it and in the fact that you can do it. That believe requires optimism.
The people who critic something, who look at it and say ‘We can do better’ or something among those lines are the optimists who believe we can build bigger and better things.
Coming from a background where I saw first-hand situations where the people that identified issues, where put down for being “too negative” or “pessimists”— this change of optics was very pleasant.
First, it shows that you should always surround yourself with people who enable you to improve yourself, to do and be better. This applies in your personal life as well as the professional one.
Secondly, it shows me how much of a difference a small change like this can make.
Instead of silencing the nitpickers, embrace them. Listen to them.
Bonus points to those people who identify problems and also propose one or more solutions for that issue.
The result would be a product, service or, simply put, a team, that works better and creates improved solutions.
ps. Please note that we are not referring to external people that critic. That, I believe, is slightly different.
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