Growing Diversity from Within

A Look at Zombies and the delicious Jackalope

Previously, we discussed the value of diversity on a team. When properly defined and implemented, few things make a bigger impact on a team than diversity. We also introduced the idea of organizations effectively employing diversity. On paper, this seems trite due to how obvious it is. When tested on the grindstone of reality, the “how” of employing diversity often becomes less apparent. One of the most important roles of a leader is fostering a culture that empowers team members to voice their opinions, especially if that opinion is unpopular. The alternative is the much-talked-about-but-rarely anything-done-about-it evil of Groupthink. Unfortunately, most of us have been on a team where leadership ignored our opinions or our voices were subdued by a culture of sycophancy. For those who have not experienced this, put yourself in Jimmy’s shoes in this conversation with Chelsea, and you will have a pretty good idea. But there is good news! There is a cheat code to fostering a culture that puts an organization’s diversity to work.

Shifting our focus from the American Civil War, let’s take a lesson from another war, World War Z. In the novel World War Z, An Oral History of the Zombie War, Max Brooks wrote of a real Israeli decision-making strategy, known as the Tenth Man Rule. The movie, adapted from the novel, describes the origins of the rule here. In essence, it is an organizational commitment to hearing out the devil’s advocate. Paraphrasing from the movie, the Tenth Man Rule states that if 9 people look at the same information and come to the same conclusion, it is the duty of the 10th person to disagree, no matter how far-fetched their disagreement. What is implied is that the other nine people must hear out the 10th person’s disagreement in full.

While the rule’s verbiage focuses on the role of the 10th Man, our focus is on the effects of implementing the rule.

Imagine a meeting of your team’s leadership to discuss the way forward in producing the next best dog treat. You pitch your idea for the Jackalope meat treat. The boss is leaning in on your suggestion and plan, and as soon as the boss expresses her support of the plan, the rest of the room seems to get on board quickly and excitement mounts. However, before the official “slapping of the table,” the boss says, “Okay, I love this plan. But we aren’t leaving until we have heard from our 10th man. Someone give me a reason why this plan is the wrong decision.”

Silence fills the room. But then, someone speaks up. It turns out that your plan had not factored in the new expense of hiring certified jackalope catchers. Then another person speak ups. The plan also had failed to consider the competition’s newest product—the pygmy wolverine meat dog treat. Finally, a third person speaks up. Your plan has a critical gap in it—the jackalope doesn’t exist. You did a fantastic job making your pitch, and the boss had bought in. Her support had initially quieted the doubters. Perhaps, they doubted their own analysis of the costs to find and hire jackalope catchers. Perhaps, they assumed the boss had already thought of the pygmy wolverine’s superior taste for dogs. Perhaps, no one but that third dissenter even knew jackalopes are not real.

Whenever making an important decision, leaders should ask, “What’s the tenth man say?” Some may think this shows indecision or weakness. If the boss doesn’t demonstrate complete resolve at all times, then the team might question the boss’s leadership. On the contrary, a leader that listens to disagreements or counters tells the team that the leader is confident and humble enough to hear the opinions of others. It tells the team that the leader is more invested in the results of the decision than the emotions of the decision. It tells the team that the leader wants their expertise and knowledge to be a part of the decision-making process.

The Tenth Man Rule is for organizations that are results-oriented.

When the boss closes meetings with, “Tenth Man, what do you have?” it forces the team to consider counters to the consensus. If there is a valid counter to the consensus, it forces the team to defend the consensus. Defending the consensus forces the team say out loud what retired Army officer Pete Blaber calls “the logic of why.” It forces the team to address and plan for theoretical problems before they become actual problems.

There is a tenth man rule to the tenth man rule: fear that teams that encourage dissent will become hopelessly mired in vituperation and division. The reality is that any team that consists of two or more people has some differing opinions. The options then are to let those differing opinions fester and grow into the division we are hoping to avoid, or to acknowledge them and use them to the team’s advantage. Differing opinions, also known as diversity of thought, are an asset, not a detriment. They force you to challenge your own assumptions which help the team find the critical gaps and correct them before your opponents take advantage of you.

Possibly, the most important effect of implementing the Tenth Man Rule is that by voicing our doubts, we paradoxically add legitimacy to every decision. By openly discussing our concerns, we acknowledge the truth that no plan is perfect. Public debate empowers our followers to voice their concerns, and it provides the leader the opportunity to explain their reasoning. Both of these create buy-in. Buy-in improves team dynamics and builds trust within an organization.

There is some irony in writing of this concept after Hamas’s brutal attacks of last October attacks in Israel. From open-source reporting, it is clear that Israel’s leaders failed to hear out their tenth man regarding intelligence on Hamas.

Don’t let good ideas hide within your team. Whether your team is two people or 1000 people, unleash those good ideas with the Tenth Man Theory.

One Last Thing

A favorite writer of mine, David French, used to close his newsletters with a “One Last Thing” in the form of a link to a song. Memory is an odd thing, but I often associate songs with memories. To help you remember the 10th Man Rule, listen to the High Kings perform a classic song about a battle in which leaders failed to employ the 10th Man Rule to the tune of 220,000 Allied casualties.