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iQuestions Faculty, Rodney Cox 
 
 
Question: 
 
What do I do with a person on my team that is pessimistic about 
everything I have? 
 
Answer: 
 
Let’s change your vocabulary a little bit about the word “pessimistic.” 
What if we re-titled that to something like “realistic”? 
 
Each of us takes a different approach when we’re processing 
information and new ideas.  
 
Let me give you an analogy that might help with this. Envision that I 
had a pair of glasses on and you had a pair on, and I asked you to 
exchange your glasses with my glasses. It would be pretty difficult for 
us to see through those lenses, wouldn’t it?  
 
The most corrected vision in this country is far-sightedness and near-
sightedness. Some of us can see out there, others of us see up close, 
and we need both of those individuals on the team.  
 
When I present my idea maybe I’m the visionary, but God has placed 
other people on my team that can take that vision and bite off the 
incremental steps, the incremental obstacles—the details—in order for 
that idea to become a reality. 
 
My question to you is: do you label the individuals in your team that 
God has placed there to help your vision to become reality? Think 
about it a minute. 
 
 
 
You get ready to present your idea and you might say it something like 
this: “I’ve got the best idea since sliced bread. You’re going to love it.” 
 
If I’m on the realistic side of that scale and you say, “I’ve got all the 
details worked out. You’re going to love this idea,” do you think I’m 
open or closed to communication? Pretty closed. 
 
Let’s say you go ahead and present that idea anyway, and at the end 
you go, “Cha-ding-ching. What did you think? Awesome, isn’t it?” and 
the individual that’s on the realistic side of that scale doesn’t buy into 
your ideas. As a matter of fact, they might ask you two or three critical 
questions that blow a hole right through that idea, in front of all the 
individuals that are in the room. What is that first thought that comes 
across your mind towards that realistic individual? 
 
If we understand leading from our strengths and we’re empowering 
each person to lead from those strengths, we might present our idea a 
little differently.  
 
“I’ve got an idea that I’ve been thinking about. As a matter of fact, it 
woke me up again this morning. I’ve jotted down a couple of thoughts, 
and I’d like to throw them out in the middle of the table to see if an 
idea like this is something that we should or shouldn’t do.”  
 
The realist has been invited into your conversation. They’re open to 
communication. Let me tell you how open they are: they’ll lick the end 
of their pencil, and when you’re through they’re going to tell you the 
key two or three obstacles that need to be removed in order for your 
idea to succeed. 
 
Let me challenge you to move your vocabulary as a leader from 
“pessimist” to “realist,” and invite that realist into your meetings every 
day.  
Cox -2- 
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