Radiators

“We want radiators not drains”

What a phrase. It could come straight out of the David Brent School of Management. 

On the surface it seems clever and thoughtful but scratch that thin veneer and what lies beneath? What is it trying to say?
 
We want optimists, not pessimists.
 
There’s many a self development book which counsels you to remove from your life all those who are dragging you down and draining your spirits. Not altogether bad advice for an individual but only if they are level headed enough not to misidentify cautionary warnings as pessimistic doom peddling.
 
But for a manager to wish to be surrounded only by optimists is courting catastrophe. A good manager wants people who are willing to speak truth to power, who are willing to think for themselves and who are vested enough in the future of their organisation to argue when poor decisions are put forward.
 
A good manager takes a collegiate approach and actively wants contra opinions. Any good idea will stand up to stress testing and will emerge a better idea for it.
 
It is well understood in business that any course of action can only be fully and successfully implemented if it has the buy-in of the workforce and the best way to do that is to involve them in the decision process. If you’ve fed and trained the dog then you’re going to be cheering for it in the fight.
 
However, if you are just told that this thin whippet will be the best in the ring and its failure will be down to you for being so negative then one might understand anybody for having misgivings as to the competency of the head trainer.
 
Sadly some managers see their role as the sole innovator of good ideas and their mission being to impose their vision on the workforce who must obey without question. They actively surround themselves with like minded people who bolster their viewpoint which can end up creating a bunker like mentality where it becomes them against the world.
 
Once this point is reached, the game is over and failure is just a matter of time. The ancient saying that a fish rots from the head down has stood the test of time for a reason.
 
In defence of the Radiator phrase one might point to an equally old saying that one bad apple can spoil the barrel. Yes, misery is contagious and it does love company. Someone who is continually downbeat and actively pessimistic no matter the circumstances would be a drain on any team. Such a person needs to be sensitively counselled to take a look at themselves, their attitude and their effect on their co-workers. To be so downbeat suggests a wider problem than mere attitude and at best a deep unhappiness with their current job.
 
However, when as a manager the majority of your team honestly disagree with your idea and can offer a reasoned argument against it, then perhaps it is you who needs a rethink not only about your idea but also about your whole approach to management.
 
Of course I do not know the circumstances in which this phrase has been trotted out, seeming several times, but from reports it doesn’t seem to have been well received either by the recipients or by the wider audience.
 
If there is to be a positive way forward then fences need to be mended and attitudes changed both at the school level and much higher where a similar situation seems to have developed of a boss surrounding themselves with like minded people.
 
Will such changes be forthcoming?
 
Recent history suggests not but perhaps this is just me being a Drain. 

We will see.