Management Tip of the Day: Ask Your Critic to Join Your Team

Are you having trouble viewing this email? If so, click here to see it in a web browser. HOME   |   TIPS   |   BLOGS   |   THE MAGAZINE   |   BOOKS   |   STORE RSS   |   Mobile OCTOBER 3, 2012 Ask Your Critic to Join Your Team Teams thrive on the tension created from diverse points of view. To get those varied opinions in your group, start by finding the biggest critics of the challenge you're working on. These may be people who think the project is a waste of resources or who advocated for it to go in another direction. Set up informal meetings with these harsh critics. Then hear them out. Let them tell you exactly what they think. Don't get defensive. Then, and this is the hard part, ask your critics to join your team. In the worst-case scenario, they'll say no, but you'll likely have learned about alternative ways to solve the problem. In the best-case scenario, at least one of them will agree to join forces with you. You will have turned an ardent critic into a passionate supporter and added much needed diversity to your team. Today's Management Tip was adapted from "Want a Team to be Creative? Make it Diverse" by Beth Comstock. Read the full post and join the discussion » Share Today's Tip: FEATURED PRODUCT The $10 Trillion Prize: Captivating the Newly Affluent in China and India HBR Press Do you know that there will be nearly one billion middle-class consumers in China and India within the next ten years? So how do you convert these new consumers into customers? In The $10 Trillion Prize, best-selling author Michael J. Silverstein and his Boston Consulting Group colleagues provide the first comprehensive profile of the emerging middle class primed to transform the global marketplace. ADVERTISEMENT Follow the Tip: PREVIOUS TIPS Improve Your Presentation in Real Time Know the Culture Before You Accept the Job Debunk the Myths Holding Your Company Back Capture Your Audience Right Away Bring Out Quieter Voices on Your Team Get Feedback, Even If You're the Boss Out of Time? Give Some Away Give Employees Freedom, Within Limits Start Your New Client Relationship Right Match Your Presentation to Your Audience All Previous Tips BEST SELLERS HBR's 10 Must Reads: The Essentials HBR's Must Reads Library Set Guide to Persuasive Presentations Guide to Better Business Writing Guide to Getting the Right Work Done Introducing Mobile ManageMentor Powered by the proven content of Harvard ManageMentor™ iTunes >> Android >> UNSUBSCRIBE   |   UPDATE YOUR PROFILE   |   MORE EMAIL NEWSLETTERS   |   PRIVACY POLICY Was this email forwarded to you? If so, sign up to start receiving your own copy. ABOUT THIS MAILING LIST You have received this message because you subscribed to the "Management Tip of the Day" email newsletter from Harvard Business Review. If at any point you wish to remove yourself from this list, change your email address, or sign up for other email newsletters and alerts, please visit the Harvard Business Review Email Newsletter Preference Center. OPT OUT If you do not wish to receive any email messages from Harvard Business Review, click here. ADVERTISE WITH HBR This enewsletter is read by thousands of decision makers every day. Learn more about connecting your brand with this audience. Copyright © 2012 Harvard Business School Publishing, an affiliate of Harvard Business School. All rights reserved. Harvard Business Publishing | 60 Harvard Way | Boston, MA 02163 Customer Service: 800-545-7685 (+1-617-783-7600 outside the U.S. and Canada)