{"id":2527,"date":"2015-05-29T07:48:59","date_gmt":"2015-05-29T07:48:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.synergita.com\/?p=2527"},"modified":"2026-02-02T09:32:51","modified_gmt":"2026-02-02T09:32:51","slug":"the-smart-mans-disease","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.synergita.com\/blog\/the-smart-mans-disease\/","title":{"rendered":"The smart man\u2019s disease\u2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u2026 you agree with someone\u2019s view but just cannot acknowledge it with a firm \u2018yes\u2019<\/strong>
\n\"Decision<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Have you ever noticed how you responded to someone making an important point during a conversation, a point you completely agreed with? Probably not, If you recall, you vociferously agreed, but stated your agreement with the opening words, \u201cNo, no, I agree with you!\u201d In reality, if you are in total agreement, should you not be responding, \u201cYes, yes I agree with you?\u201d<\/p>\n

This is what I would call the \u201csmart man\u2019s disease\u201d. You agree, but say it hard with a No, No. Most of us do so and more often than not, because we are smart!<\/p>\n

It is interesting that how this disease, if I may call so, develops on most smart people. And this has broader implications for how smart people in our organizations will learn and grow. The Smart man\u2019s disease, as I have seen, has the potential to hurt than help. And that is why this needs attention sooner than later by the very smart people who suffer from it.<\/p>\n

Being smart is a critical key success factor in growing up and reaching heights, but when this manifests as a disease, it begins to have far reaching negative consequences on how smart people learn and grow at work. The good news is that symptoms that confirm you suffer from this disease are not hard to recognize. And better news is that you can work on it and cure yourself of this career-derailing disease.<\/p>\n

The symptoms<\/strong><\/p>\n

Let us start with the symptoms:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. You are growing impatient during discussions, conversations and debates at work and even in social settings. You wonder why people can\u2019t understand \u201ceven simple things\u201d and agree with the \u201cobvious conclusions\u201d you are drawing!<\/li>\n
  2. You negate suggestions from others but intelligently. There is a pattern in how you do this and this may be referred to as the \u201cYes-But\u201d game. When someone suggests something, you say you see value in what they are saying, but the \u201csmart man\u201d in you refuses to buy it. So, you handle this by saying, \u201cYes I agree, but let me tell you why it may not work.\u201d And the entire conversation is full of \u201cyes, but\u201d till you prove the other person \u201cnot OK\u201d and collect yourself the counterfeit stamp of \u201cbeing OK.\u201d<\/li>\n
  3. You personalize \u201csuccess and wins\u201d and externalize when things go wrong or displace them elsewhere.<\/li>\n
  4. You interpret your \u201copinions\u201d as \u201cfacts\u201d and others\u2019 \u201cfacts\u201d as \u201copinions\u201d.<\/li>\n
  5. You argue for the sake of arguing even when you are not familiar with the subject or the context.<\/li>\n
  6. You rush to conclusions and over trust your own judgment.<\/li>\n
  7. You tend to confuse between assertiveness and aggressiveness in your relationship with people.<\/li>\n
  8. You switch off when your colleagues persist with their arguments.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    As with any body vitals like blood pressure and pulse rate, smartness is good and necessary within a range. When it exceeds the range, smart man\u2019s disease begins to manifest its ugly side. This is when your strength turns your weakness.<\/p>\n

    So, what is the remedy? Often organizations have several tools that help you recognize you have this disease, including 360 degree feedback and more. But even without these mirrors, you can notice many of the symptoms listed above.<\/p>\n

    Some remedies<\/strong><\/p>\n

    More the symptoms, more serious the disease as can be understood. Some of the remedies could include the following:<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Enlist some of your colleagues to help you recognize the symptoms by flagging them off when they see them.<\/li>\n
    2. Be not the first person to offer views, but listen carefully and then offer your views.<\/li>\n
    3. Acknowledge value of others\u2019 viewpoints before you state yourst.<\/li>\n
    4. Broaden your perspective and horizons through reading and listening to thought leaders.<\/li>\n
    5. Practice saying occasionally \u201cpass, I don\u2019t have a point of view on this.\u201d<\/li>\n
    6. Monitor your \u201cYes, But\u201d game and stop playing it by simply responding to others\u2019 suggestions with a \u201cThank You.\u201d<\/li>\n
    7. Invite others to critique your views and learn from it.<\/li>\n
    8. Develop a healthy sense of \u201cparanoia\u201d about your own knowledge and currency of your perspectives.<\/li>\n
    9. Ask yourself if you are sharing opinions but professing them as \u201cdata\u201d and scale back this habit.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      The smart man\u2019s disease is not incurable, although the cure takes time. Dealing with this begins with recognizing you have it and resolving to address this. And remember, your colleagues and manager will only be very willing to help you in your recovery process.<\/p>\n

      The author is an Executive Coach and HR Advisor to Corporates<\/em><\/p>\n

      (This article was published in the Business Line print edition dated May 27, 2015)<\/em><\/p>\n

      Re-posted this blog in our website with permission from Mr. C Mahalingam<\/i><\/p>\n

      “Be not the first person to offer views, but listen carefully and then offer your views”<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      \u2026 you agree with someone\u2019s view but just cannot acknowledge it with a firm \u2018yes\u2019 Have you ever noticed how…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2532,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41,23,7,14,1],"tags":[111,37,117,127,120,110,44,20,124],"ppma_author":[4],"yoast_head":"\nThe Smart Man\u2019s Disease and Feedback | Synergita<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Learn why developing the habit of giving timely feedback matters and how prompt feedback supports better decisions and employee performance.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.synergita.com\/blog\/the-smart-mans-disease\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta 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