Walmart Exec Criticizes “Debbie Downers”
A Walmart executive’s claim that “Nobody wants [to hire] a Debbie Downer” may be misleading and is worth a more nuanced discussion with our students.
Executive Vice President and Chief People Officer Donna Morris cautions against being “constantly negative.” She says, “You know they’re going to show up [and] they’re going to bring the problem, never the solution. I like people who bring the problem and a suggestion for how they might resolve [it.]” Fair enough: Age-old advice to any working professional is to offer a solution along with a problem. Morris also distinguishes between being a “downer” and “toxic optimism,” but students may demonstrate a wide range of personality traits and communication practices in between.
One question is whether people with more negative Big Five personality traits could be valuable to an organization. Could those of us who tend towards neuroticism (🙋🏻♀️) or disagreeableness offer a service to the organization? For example, the many dismissed economists and silenced financial industry employees who warned about the 2008 Great Recession were characterized as “Debbie Downers” and worse.
Perhaps Morris illustrates a management issue. Could leaders be more receptive to hearing bad news? Could they do a better job coaching employees to present bad news persuasively and with possible solutions? This is what business communication faculty teach and organizational leaders could learn.
I presented character dimensions and virtues along a continuum in the book Recovery at Work. For example, hope rests somewhere between despair and optimism, which may exist at the same time. A negative person at work may also feel optimistic that the organization will accept new ideas and take action for a more positive future.
In addition to their delivery, the lesson for students may be to get perspective on their thinking. They might talk with others to be sure their ideas merit review. Are they selective in presenting bad news, or are they nitpicking? Do they present good news, point out benefits, and support others with compliments to balance out their keen insight about problems?
Let’s guide instead of belittling our employees who may be struggling at work.