A gadfly is a person who interferes with the status quo of a society or community by posing novel, potentially upsetting questions, usually directed at authorities. The term is originally associated with the ancient Greek philosopher Socrates in his defence when on trial for his life.
During his defence when on trial for his life, Socrates, according to Plato’s writings, pointed out that conflict, like the gadfly, was easy to swat, but the cost to society of silencing individuals who were irritating could be very high: “If you kill a man like me, you will injure yourselves more than you will injure me” because his role was that of a gadfly, “to sting people and whip them into a fury, all in the service of truth.”
As you know the end of Socrates was not so good, but his heritage is living on the contrary nobody remembers the name of the judges.
Gadfly in Society
As the author of Dune, Frank said he thought that Richard Nixon was the best president the US had because Nixon taught the Americans not to trust the government. As a result of Nixon’s involvement in the bugging of the Democratic Party at the Watergate Hotel, he resigned from the White House under a cloud of mistrust and scorn.
This humanity, the humanity of the State and Society means that the State and Society are not perfect and there is a need to tell the State and Society when it is about to or it did commit a mistake — in order to avoid the mistake and in the later reprimand.
The role of Gadfly is constant and ubiquitous: The Gadfly should always be there otherwise sooner or later a mistake will happen with dire consequences.
Gadflies come in many shapes and forms. There are gadflies that are bombastic and those that are cryptic. Also can be very angry, snarky, melancholic, phlegmatic and sanguine. Others are funny and some well are not. Regardless though each fulfils a purpose whether State and Society like it or not.
A newcomer
Just because you are junior or new in an organisation doesn’t mean your opinions or views are invalid. In fact, that may give you a unique and valuable perspective. Mediocrity can often set in, or you may face the ‘we’ve always done it that way’ syndrome. That doesn’t mean you should accept it or not challenge it.
Challenges In Project Management
According to project management guru Antonio Nieto-Rodriguez, some 88 million people will be working on projects worth $20 trillion by 2027. Yet, Nieto-Rodriguez concedes that “only 35% of the projects undertaken worldwide are successful — which means we’re wasting an extravagant amount of time, money, and opportunity.
If no one is arguing on a project, and everyone is very quiet, be prepared for impending disaster. You don’t manage projects with just political correctness. It is not possible to achieve successful results with employees who cannot get out of their comfort zone and managers who do not take responsibility.
So, we need gadfly project team members. Yes, they are disturbing. But you need them to chase success and break the comfort zone.
If you have a gadfly in your team, feel lucky and stay safe.