A teammate who doubts the plan is one more person who:
- Is waiting
- Is focused on the costs and risks of failure
- Is relieved when there is evidence that the plan isn’t working (“See, I told you I had my doubts…”)
Too many doubters and it doesn’t matter how talented other colleagues are or how sound the plan is: Desperate levels of effort will be required to succeed.
Doubt is the brains way of protecting its host by causing us to lean back. This attention to risk can be an asset, of course, but only when it’s addressed: Do we listen to our doubt and find a new plan – or improve this plan?
But to move forward while maintaining doubt is to sit on the back of a tandem bike applying the brakes while your teammate pedals furiously in front of you.
What is your team doing with its doubts? (We need everyone pedaling forward.)
