The Role of Devil's Advocate: From Sainthood to Modern Business Decision-Making

For nearly four centuries, the Roman Catholic Church relied on Advocatus Diabili, or the use of "devil's advocates" to investigate all of the negative aspects of the life and work of a candidate for sainthood. To get a complete and fair review of the candidate, well-respected individuals within the church were asked to take the devil's position to ensure that the person reviewed truly deserved sainthood. The role of DA provided an element of "safety" for the reviewers because as could be expected, it would be difficult to get others to stand in judgment of exemplary lives.

The devil's advocate approach has also found its way into the modern business in the last century as a way to facilitate decision-making to ensure agh alternative points of view are made available. It is especially helpful in cohesive groups that do not want to risk hurting relationships. So, instead of being viewed as a "dissenter" -- the DA is valued for its efforts to broaden the problem-solving process.

The DA may say: 

"Wow, that sounds like a great idea. If I may, can I be the devil's advocate on a couple of the elements?

The DA starts with a positive acknowledgement of the idea and then asks permission to explore further. Safe and effective -- what leaders do!