In Praise of Doubt . . . and Middle Managers

Among people of a more conservative cast of mind, it is fashionable to praise faith: faith in God, faith in the established way of living, faith in family values, faith in the state and its government. For fundamentalists, faith forms a central tenet of their system of beliefs. That includes business fundamentalists: those who see conventional ways of managing and organizing as too well established to be questioned. Doubt is, for such people, the enemy; it undermines their faith, spurns their dogma, and causes others to question what should not be laid open to disbelief. Many business fundamentalists pride themselves on being “practical” or “pragmatic,” seeing everything outside their own fixed belief system as too “theoretical” or “wacko” to be worth their attention. That is why, in this article, I want to praise doubt: to explain that it is not only essential to success in just about every endeavor, but also the basis for all change and advance in our lives. Without doubt, there can be neither progress nor learning, for doubt is the basis of creativity and the seedbed of innovation. I also want to point to where in the organization doubt—and creativity—are most often to be found: in the neglected ranks of middle management.

Doubt is unpopular among two powerful groups of people. I’ve already mentioned the conservative fundamentalists, business, social, or religious. The other group that dislikes doubt almost as intensely is whoever is currently holding positions of power. Both groups fear doubt for the same reason: doubt leads to people asking questions, which upsets the status quo and could well produce demands for change, or rejection of what people have been told by those who believe they know best.

Doubt is not ignorance. It is knowing that you do not know. It is keeping a mind open to the possibility that anything we even think we do know is not what it seems.

Let’s be clear that doubt is not the same as outright denial. It’s quite possible for, say, a militant unbeliever to be as bigoted and intolerant as any religious fundamentalist. Both believe they know the one, true answer, which leaves no room for doubt of any kind. Many corporate leaders seem equally sure that their way of doing things is the only possible one. Seeing the success of capitalism in the world, there are those who claim no better way of running our economic lives could ever exist. As well as demanding faith in their viewpoint, they flatly the deny the possibility of any other option. Doubt is not ignorance. It is knowing that you do not know. It is keeping a mind open to the possibility that anything we even think we do know is not what it seems. It is always being ready to ask difficult questions, and refusing to accept statements as true or proven without seeing the evidence and taking time to evaluate it carefully. That’s why doubt is so important. Without it, there would be no reason to go beyond the current state of knowledge; no basis for challenging what we think we know, in order to find new answers and open fresh areas for exploration.

It’s common for people to challenge doubt by claiming that it turns people into cynics and nihilists. Of course, that is possible (a good doubter never dismisses whatever is possible, however unlikely!), but that is to take doubt to its extreme. You could say the same of any kind of faith: that it turns people into credulous fools who can be manipulated by those who hold the levers of power. Yet doubt and faith are alike in this quality: both allow people to move forward when the way ahead is obscure and confusing. Faith can persuade you that it will all turn out well. Doubt can help you see that whatever appears to be the case today could be overturned by some better understanding tomorrow.

Doubt is the basis of every kind of creativity. Unless we doubt that everything has yet been said, discovered, or expressed about a topic, why should we make the effort to find something new to say or explore?

New products are made because their creators doubt that the current offerings are the best that can be done. New scientific ideas come from people who doubt that current theories are either fully correct or fully able to explain reality. New ways of organizing or getting things done arise from doubts about whether those presently in use are really as good as people claim. Doubt is the basis of every kind of creativity. Unless we doubt that everything has yet been said, discovered, or expressed about a topic, why should we make the effort to find something new to say or explore?

Sadly, the ranks of middle managers have been most heavily thinned by corporations who equate people with costs. Instead of understanding the enormous potential middle managers have for providing innovation and creative insights, they view them as unnecessary go-betweens that occupy a kind of no man’s land between top executives and those doing mundane tasks.

Because those who have achieved power are nearly always wary of doubt—for the reasons given above—the greatest concentrations of doubt (and thus creativity too) are to be found in the middle and lower parts of organizations. Middle managers are much more likely to come up with great new ideas than the guys at the top. They aren’t so attached to the ways that produced their own past success, and they are much more likely to feel that doubting the wisdom of those who went before (and especially their bosses) is a highly desirable state of mind. They are ideal doubters, because they have sufficient experience to direct their doubt into areas that they know are most likely to be productive. Younger people are more passionate in their doubting, but often lack the accumulated know-how to avoid throwing themselves into schemes that have already been tried, or ideas that have limited practical usefulness. Sadly, the ranks of middle managers have been most heavily thinned by corporations who equate people with costs. Instead of understanding the enormous potential middle managers have for providing innovation and creative insights, they view them as unnecessary go-betweens that occupy a kind of no man’s land between top executives and those doing mundane tasks.

This is so far from reality that it borders on foolishness. High filers should never be rushed through the middle management ranks on so-called fast-track programs. That is a culpable waste of the opportunities they have to contribute the fresh thinking that so many corporations lack. It is extremely difficult for those who have made it to the top to view the thinking that brought them there objectively. Not only does it seem almost entirely beneficial (after all, it worked so well for them), it is both what they know and the basis for their status. Only at middle management levels, before success in the hierarchical handicap has been fully established, can managers afford to offer new ideas and seek unexpected ways to develop their careers. Rather than letting as many middle managers go as possible, organizations should view them as priceless assets. If you want to save money, let more top executives find opportunities elsewhere. Most of them have usually already contributed their best to the organization, long before they enter the executive suite. All that is left is to defend their legacy.

Good leaders accept, even cherish, doubt wherever they find it. They never squash questions, however difficult they are. They hold lightly to their opinions, and always look at alternatives suggested by those below them. Poor leaders include those who are dictatorial and rigid in their viewpoints, and all who demand faith and obedience from others in place of exploration that can lead to creativity and understanding.

I will leave the last word with Bernard Glassman and Rick Fields (from Instructions to the Cook: A Zen Master's Lessons in Living a Life That Matters:

Doubt is a state of openness and unknowing. It’s a willingness to not be in charge, to not know what is going to happen next. The state of doubt allows us to explore things in an open and fresh way.

Does absolute truth even exist on any matter? I very much doubt it.

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