'They're a professional sand castle kicker...'

I heard this statement recently and I burst out laughing at the accuracy of the description. A colleague and I were discussing a fellow we had just seen present some 'amazingly insightful' talk and I was curious as to what she thought of the content and message. This was her reply.... 'He's a professional sand castle kicker...'.

She went on to say, 'You know the type. Massive gob, talks down and even offers a smile as they try to convince you they know more than others or even you, so you then believe they're 'aaaaammmmmaaazzing', she drawled. I chuckled as I thought about the many people who now call themselves management consultants.

 I loved description and perceptive comment regarding one of the less attractive species found in our eclectic business kingdom. 

'Then they lift their foot and smash someone's sandcastle, which in our world are new ideas, concepts or insight, and then some people, bizarrely, think of them as superior for doing so...' Her voice has turned more serious, 'They prevent progress and someone should stand up to them ..'.

I turned and looked at she was serious. Yikes.

I looked over at the fellow who had just presented as he flitted around the room, and I thought about his comment directly to me, 'So did you learn something?'.

My witty reply didn't get a chance to escape my mouth because before I knew it he'd galloped off like a little pony to disorientate someone else. Didn't really matter if I had said something directly to him anyway- he'd never made eye contact. Listening was clearly not a strong point, bless.

She's right though - there is a breed of business people who build their whole profile based on criticising other people's work. They look thoughtful and sometimes offer suggestions to 'improve' the little idea, but it is false and makes you feel unsettled, not stronger. They often give you unsolicited advice like 'Do you really think this will work?', 'I didn't want to be the one who told you, but others are talking about how you present your ideas. You're getting people offside..'., etc etc. Some of us, myself included, hear this and can easily mistake this counsel for support. But it is not.

It is kicking over your sandcastles ....professionally speaking.

And the way you can tell the difference between real support and this action is the way you feel.

Not whether you like it or not, but rather if you're left feeling diminished for having spent a moment with them or hearing the words. And by diminished I mean you feel foolish, inferior or left to grasp with the possibility that you're idea (or you) might just be stupid. Sandcastle kickers leave you with this feeling and it can take a while to shake it off. Whereas coaches, leaders and innovators offer ideas, encouragement and enthusiastic pathways to keep you going forward. You might feel a bit disappointed your idea is the not (yet) the next Google, but you're not left feeling diminished.

And it is important to know the difference in the current business climate because these people stop people and they stop progress.

 When you examine these people there is often no real work that comes out from them. No productivity, no output ... just carefully stage managed objections that many mistake for true business insight. No wonder they want everyone else to stop, they've not yet started anything.

I asked her about a couple of people I'd come across lately who weren't quite 'sandcastle kickers', but they were certainly something else like that and I needed some clarification.

They weren't kicking sandcastles they were 'professional doubters' she explained, who hang in the shadows and encourage others to kick down your sandcastle on their behalf. Quite a nifty trick. If culture eats strategy for breakfast, then these folks create eating disorders.

They pass through questions to others such as, 'Who really came up with this idea?', 'Who else helped them do this?' and the best  one 'I think you're mistaken, they couldn't have done that by themselves, someone must of helped them....' and thus erode credibility, reputations and respect. And with that the idea is chewed on.

'You know the ones,' she said, 'These are the people who will come to your place, drink and eat and then stand in the foyer and criticise and wedge others just to make themselves appear superior. They like to be corrosive, but only in the safety of indirect commentary. Actually these are not sand castle kickers or doubters, my friend, they're just arseholes.'

I laughed softly and then watched the little pony vigorously shaking the hands of the crowd. I was amazed he never once made eye contact with a single person.

It occurred to me I did learn something very important about change in that moment. And no, I still do not think Kotter's works in Australian workplaces ... sorry.

No something a little broader and a fraction more profound... maybe

For change to happen you need to create a clear passage for idea generation and some level of insulation built in to the culture. Leadership, in whatever form that might be - formal or informal, need to be tuned in to 'Professional Sandcastle Kickers' and be able to dissect and examine what is the real output and message. Are people being diminished?

There is no doubt we all need quicker and far more progression in our people and businesses right now. Transformation and the race to survive is well and truly underway. I suspect calling out the 'professional sand castles kickers' may well help this along and improve the chance of success of a great new idea taking hold.

Positive change isn't always about creating a better Vision, sometimes it might just be about protecting the process of creating sandcastles.