My 2 Cents

When involved in a creative endeavor with a group of people, there's often that PERSON who feels compelled to add their 2 cents. And that's it. They don't do anything else but feel their entire value to the group is to add their 2 cents. And usually their 2 cents is destructive.

They aren't the person brainstorming ideas; they are the person sitting silently who AFTER a decision has been made and executed offers their "constructive" criticism which upsets and hurts those who were involved.

They aren't the energetic, full of life, person taking a risk on something new or different; they are the person hiding in the background, turning down each opportunity to be involved and then shredding to bits the risky, creative thing, often causing those creative risk-takers to take themselves right off to a new project or organization -leaving the original group with only this "helpful" do-nothing.

THOSE PEOPLE ARE TOXIC TO ANY TEAM.

Once, working as a volunteer with a non-profit, a group of us were working to create a new logo. It was regularly mentioned at meetings that this was happening; ideas were solicited but not much discussion occurred around this item. So, a small team went to work on this. The logo went through many revisions with the team and artists working together until it was finished. At that point, the logo was shared with the rest of the group. One group member who'd stayed silent until that point was quite critical (to the point of potentially insulting the designer, who'd volunteered their time).

THIS WAS TOXIC TO THE PROJECT.

I cannot stress it enough. Are YOU this person? Being honest, I know I have been this person from time to time. And I'm not proud of it. Face it, we ALL have been this person at one point or another.

Here's how you can STOP this behavior:

Think before you speak. Simple as that.

Ask yourself, "Have I taken every opportunity to be involved in the project/idea/initiative to which I am giving my opinion?"

Then, ask yourself, "Am I willing to be involved in this project/idea/initiative to which I am giving my opinion?"

If the answer is "No" to both questions, then DON'T SAY A WORD unless you are going to say something ENTIRELY positive.

Here's how you can HANDLE this behavior:

Take a deep breath. Then, politely but firmly tell the "critic" that the time for creative input has passed and that you are not asking for advice, merely sharing the outcome. In addition, you can ask them to get involved more deeply NEXT time.

Remember, unless you're willing to get your creative hands dirty; put your time and effort into an endeavor -your "opinion" is probably hurtful and unwelcome. So just be quiet. That's my 2 cents.