The Seduction of the “Yes Men”
“Courage is the most important of all the virtues, because without courage, you can’t practice any other virtue consistently. You can be kind for a while; you can be fair for a while; you can be generous for a while; you can even be loving for a while. But it is only with courage that you can be persistently and consistently kind, fair, generous, and loving.”
- Maya Angelou
I despise “Yes Men” not out of personal distaste for their cowardice but because they are inherently deceitful. They’re never fully honest with upper management. Even when they recognize a critical flaw in a plan, they’d rather nod in agreement than raise an objection that might lead to success. And that’s what makes them dangerous.
They care for nothing but themselves. They climb by boot-licking, not by contributing real value. They talk of loyalty to the company, but they have none. Their only allegiance is to the positions they occupy, clinging to the left hand of power while sacrificing their integrity to keep it.
This critique may sound harsh, but it’s earned. I’ve seen “Yes Men” destroy companies from within. They don’t strengthen leadership; they weaken it. True leadership should be tested, challenged, and refined in the fire of honest dialogue. Respectful, passionate debate is critical to sound decision-making. You need to know where your people stand: do they genuinely want the team to succeed, or are they just agreeing to preserve their own comfort?
“Yes Men” cultivates an environment of blind obedience. They will run your company off a cliff.
So don’t surround yourself with flatterers. Surround yourself with people who care enough about the mission to point out flaws in your thinking. I’m not talking about backbiters or saboteurs; I mean good, principled people who want you to win, even if it means risking their own position to help you do it.
