As a manager I notice two kinds off employees, the followers who do the things you say and the quibblers who ask questions.
I love the latter, those are the ones I want in my teams. On first thought they might add lag, they might slow things down. However, if your team is big enough, they prevent you from doing stupid things. The first group will never prevent, they will coalesce with you into the abyss of faults. The quibblers will only follow when they are convinced.
As a manager I find it difficult to be and stay a quibbler. I think I'm obliged to be because I carry out a function to advice my superiors, which means I need to make them the best offer my department can deliver in all circumstances. If I would be a follower I wouldn't be able to do this. And if I'm a quibbler I might annoy my superior and lose my job. As long as my superiors are not susceptible for quibblers I might be facing heaps of problems.
This fine balance is a problem for me, sometimes I'm just too blunt. To my superiors the edge feels thin and I can tip over any minute, but on the other side I expect a thick edge from the ones I lead; my goal is to provide them with a solid base to deliver me criticism.
Is balancing things out the trick for a manager? Finding the edge and not tip over? I don't know. I rather do what I think is best and get screwed if that's not what my superior wants. And there's another fact, if a superior asks me to do something, should I interpreted it as a direct order (follower) or as a suggestion (quibbler)? I opt for the latter one, risking my position. Being a quibbler makes it possible to find new ways to do ones work better, when someone is a follower there will be no new ideas or any creativity. Followers do the same work until they retire or die.
But hey, if I need to follow, and I don't want to, and I get fired not to follow, is it really a problem? I can't live following, so perhaps that's for the best as well... What I'm trying to say is: don't follow, think! Criticism makes you better, learn to take it, love it. Be a quibbler to your superiors, minors, team members and above all to yourself!
