Playing the devil’s advocate refers to assuming a position or opinion that is opposite to one’s own beliefs in order to challenge or critique someone else’s argument. The purpose of playing the devil’s advocate is to encourage critical thinking, stimulate debate, and expose flaws in reasoning. But more often than not, playing the devil’s advocate is just an excuse for someone to take potshots at ideas using the worst possible outcome imaginable.
Negativity Is Contagious
There was a team of five designers in a creative brainstorming session tasked with designing new packaging for a product. One of the designers decided to play devil’s advocate, questioning every idea and suggesting negative scenarios. At first, the team tried to address the concerns, but soon it became apparent that the devil’s advocate was not offering any constructive criticism and the brainstorming session turned into a debate.
The other designers became frustrated and demotivated, and their creativity began to suffer. The devil’s advocate’s negative attitude started to spread, and the team became stuck, unable to come up with any new ideas. The session ended with no new packaging options and a team of designers feeling defeated and frustrated.
On hindsight, the team learned that constructive contradiction is productive and challenging assumptions can lead to unique ideas, but playing devil’s advocate without offering constructive criticism is detrimental to both the team and the project at hand.
Innovation Requires Positivity to Flourish
Creative brainstorming sessions are an opportunity to generate ideas and explore possibilities without judgment or criticism. However, one common issue that can arise during brainstorming is the temptation to play devil’s advocate, which involves offering counterarguments and objections to ideas that are being shared. While playing devil’s advocate can have its benefits, it can also discourage others from sharing their thoughts or cause them to become defensive.
The Ten Faces of Innovation
Another strategy that is recommended by a book call The Ten Faces of Innovation by IDEO founder Tom Kelley is to replace the role of the devil’s advocate with ten pro-innovation personas. Instead of using the devil as an excuse to criticise others, putting on one of these personas gives you permission to be creative by expressing a different point of view and come up with a broader range of ideas.
