A good devil’s advocate
"I'm just playing devil's advocate."
Did your eyes just roll a little bit? You’ve probably heard this and similar phrases used as a way to deflect responsibility for being contrarian.
The idea of devil's advocate can actually be very helpful when it's done right. It can challenge assumptions, broaden perspective and disrupt group-think. Here are some tips on achieving that…
Make it official
Designate someone as the devil's advocate for that conversation. Everyone should understand that individual has been tasked with challenging the proposal in question. This removes questions around intention and focuses on the merits of the topic itself.
I also recommend designating a different devil's advocate from one meeting to the next. This will give everyone the opportunity to exercise their skills at critical thinking and credible challenge.
Be logical
Remember that the devil's advocate is countering the idea, not the person. They need to provide specific rationale as to why the idea may not work. Those arguments should be grounded in real facts. Ideally, they would also provide alternative solutions.
Be tough
The devil's advocate does not necessarily need to believe the idea is right or wrong. They just need to be able to challenge it as credibly as possible. They are trying to demonstrate that the theory is falsifiable.
It would be easy to simply make a single counter-argument and move-on; however, that would defeat the purpose. The devil's advocate should act as though they are on a debate team and are trying to make a convincing case why the idea in question is flawed.
Prompts to help identify credible challenges might sound like…
• What assumptions is the group making?
• How have similar ideas failed before?
• What benefits would competing suggestions have?
• If this ends-up failing, what is the most likely reason?
• Why hasn't this been done already?
• Why aren't we utilizing a simpler approach?
Know when to stop
The process of credibly challenging the idea shouldn’t go on forever or even drastically delay a decision. You don't want to pick apart every detail. Depending on the context and scale of the topic, it may only require an extra few minutes of discussion.
The point of the exercise was never to kill the idea at all costs. It's about understanding competing risks and making an informed decision.
Often times, the proposal may move forward despite the fact that valid concerns were raised. Hopefully, the benefits of the idea outweighed those concerns and/or the risks could be easily mitigated.
On the other hand, if a critical failure-point was identified, the team may decide to move in another direction.
Either way, the decision should have been made stronger as a result of the conversation.
This Week's Action Items:
Designate someone as the devil's advocate. Have the team take turns filling this role.
Make sure any arguments are relevant to the facts at hand.
Avoid making this a check-the-box exercise. Have the devil's advocate raise credible challenges.
Learn when to stop the debate and move to a decision. This will come with practice.
