Hire those who will agree to disagree and challenge your decision, lest you fall prey to those who nod along

 “Absolutely.”
“Not a problem.”
“You are correct.”
“We’ll take care of it right away.”

These are a few phrases leaders and managers like to hear, especially when something needs immediate attention, and these do frequent rounds in any workplace. But in this process of saying ‘yes’ to everything without a filter and not turning down anything that comes from upper management, you are falling in to the yes-man or yes-woman trap. And that is not a good thing for you, your manager or your organization.

While such employees come across as extremely accommodating and as people who can be relied upon to be available at the ‘beck and call’ of the manager, are they necessarily the ones who can make the right decisions for the business? There are traps that hide behind these endless series of ‘yes’ which make such people not necessarily the best suited for business. The yes-man manager may clam up in meetings, avoid conflict at any costs, and fail to take a stand on important issues.

The repercussions of having ‘yes-men’ in the team has had more negative impact than not. There is a lost opportunity for managers who surround themselves with ‘yes-men’ – they fail to create an environment where people are encouraged to be open and honest. Such people who are unwilling to question, disagree or challenge their manager, are actively nurturing an organization that is designed to cling to the status quo. And this in turn hampers the growth opportunity of the business.

On the flip side, while upper management may like the eager-to-please manager, they may not respect that manager. And when it comes time for promotion, they may prefer a manager who shows a little backbone, does not avoid confrontation, and is skilled at making difficult decisions.

While life seems easier when surrounded with people who always respond in the affirmative to everything the manager wants done, it tends to do more harm in the long term. It is critical for a manager to surround themselves with people who will agree to disagree. If people are not periodically disagreeing with you, are not challenging the status quo, you are surrounded by ‘yes-men’. Disagreement does not mean disrespect; it is just the desire of the team to get to a better result. The universal truth is that some of the best ideas, innovations and inventions, have emerged from environments where leaders (managers) surround themselves with people that will question, challenge and often disagree!