Naysayers, Sayers, Doers: Spot the Real Heroes on Your Team
The Hidden Cost of Loud Employees, and How to Move Them Up The Productivity Ladder
As humans, we are creatures of habit. And those habits vary from person to person. And so do the attitudes, the approaches, and the values.
If we look through the lens of attitude towards work, we will find that, in any workplace, there are three types of people.
The naysayers, the sayers, and the doers.
Let me elaborate.
The Naysayers
In every workplace, there’s a group that doesn’t just question things — they complain. Over and over again.
You’ll recognize them by their tone, their commentary, and the subtle (or sometimes loud) negativity they inject into conversations.
They always seem to have a boatload of things to say — mostly negative — about the company, the management, the processes, the policies, the market, the economy, and sometimes even the snacks in the pantry.
Nothing is ever good enough.
They’re the pessimists, the cynics, the constant skeptics. But unlike healthy skeptics, who challenge ideas to make them better, naysayers challenge everything to make nothing better.
You’ll hear them near the water cooler (or in today’s world, on the likes of Blind or post-meeting side chats). They’re often the first to predict the next round of layoffs. The first to complain that leadership doesn’t have a clue. The first to dismiss any new initiative as “just another management gimmick.”
They sound smart. They sound like they’re in the know. But they drain energy from the room. They kill momentum. They infect teams with doubt. And they slow things down.
These are the naysayers. Naysayers like to complain.
The Sayers
First, let me confess: sayers is not a word in the dictionary. I hope you don’t mind, Oxford. I decided to use it anyway.
In every workplace, there’s a familiar breed of people who speak a lot.
You’ll recognize them instantly. They’re the ones chatting with the receptionist as you walk in, holding conversations by the coffee machine, or jumping into every active Slack thread — even if the topic has nothing to do with their function. They’re present in every Zoom call, and somehow manage to unmute themselves just in time to echo what someone else already said… only louder and longer.
They know how to make themselves seen. They ask a question at every town hall, often prefaced with: “This is more of a comment than a question…” Their cameras are always on. Their hands are always up. Their comments always start with “To build on that…” — even when they’re not building anything at all.
They aren’t necessarily bad people. In fact, many of them are well-meaning. They want to be part of the action. They want to be involved. They want to be noticed.
And visibility, in moderation, is not a bad thing. In some environments, it’s even rewarded. But here’s where it gets tricky:
Sayers often confuse presence with performance.
They’ve mastered the art of seeming valuable, without always being valuable.
They attend meetings but don’t move projects forward. They circulate opinions but don’t contribute outcomes. They add comments but not code, analysis, insights, or deliverables. And if you’re not careful, they can dominate conversations and derail team dynamics, not with ill will, but with volume.
“What you do speaks so loud that I cannot hear what you say.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson
These are the sayers. Sayers crave visibility and love being in the spotlight.
The Doers
Every organization has a few people who seem to operate on a different frequency.
They don’t just have a strong work ethic, it’s wired into them. They don’t wait to be told what to do. They already did it. They’re the ones who spot problems before they become issues, roll up their sleeves without being asked, and treat deadlines as commitments, not suggestions.
Doers are self-driven. They take ownership, not just of their tasks, but of outcomes. They don’t pass the buck. If something fails, they take responsibility. If something succeeds, they give credit to others.
They show up early, stay a little longer, and always leave things better than they found them. Not because someone’s watching. But because they watch themselves. Integrity is their default.
You’ll often find them working quietly in the background, head down, deep in focus. They’re the ones actually moving the needle while others are busy talking about how heavy it is. They don’t care for applause. They don’t chase visibility. In fact, many doers are allergic to self-promotion. They believe their work should speak for itself, and often, it does.
They are fueled by purpose. They care about customers. They get a genuine thrill from solving hard problems. For them, the reward is in the progress, not the praise.
Chop your own wood and it will warm you twice.” — Henry Ford
These are the doers. Doers like to get stuff done.
Climbing The Productivity Ladder
Every organization has its mix of doers, sayers, and naysayers — and yes, you’ll find all three at every level, from entry-level employees to senior leadership.
The question isn’t if you have them. The question is:
Do you know who they are?
And more importantly, what are you doing about it?
This isn’t just a personality traits categorization exercise. It’s an important part of leading and growing high-performing teams.
If you ignore this:
Naysayers will erode your team morale.
Sayers will hog airtime without creating outcomes.
And Doers, your true value creators, will quietly burn out or walk away.
As leaders, our job is not just to spot where people sit on this ladder, but to help them move up — from naysayer → to sayer → to doer.
I call this the Productivity Ladder, and your org’s performance depends on how many people you can move up that ladder.
“If your team is working 4-hour workweeks and getting paid for 40, you need to start paying attention.”
And no, I’m not here to question The 4-Hour Workweek. But the fact is that McKinsey research shows that up to 28% of a typical workweek is lost to emails and unnecessary meetings. It’s not a 4-hour workweek. It’s a 40-hour illusion, unless you know where the time (and energy) is going.
So, how do you spot and shift each type? Here’s what I’ve learned:
For the Naysayers (Bottom of the Ladder)
Default mode: Negativity, gossip, resistance.
Impact: Contaminates culture, spreads fear, drains team energy.
What you can do:
Surface the source. Track the ripple effects of rumors or toxic chatter. If the same name pops up in 1:1s or feedback loops, you’ve found the source.
Hold the mirror. Don’t let it slide. Have direct conversations. Ask: “What would you do differently?” Shift them from problem-pointing to solution-thinking.
Draw the line. If repeated coaching doesn’t change behavior, take action. Chronic cynicism is a culture killer. Protect the team.
Use frameworks like Psychological Safety and the RACI Matrix (discussed in The Leader’s Playbook) to build safe yet accountable environments.
For the Sayers (Middle of the Ladder)
Default mode: High visibility, low output.
Impact: Creates noise, can distort perception of real contributors.
What you can do:
Anchor everything to output. In meetings, ask: “What did we ship?” Not “What did we discuss?”
Give space, but set expectations. Encourage communication, but tie it to outcomes. Public presence must match actual contribution.
Make accountability visible. I like to use dashboards and accountability frameworks like RACI to make accountability visible.
You can learn more about RACI and other accountability frameworks in The Leader’s Playbook.
For the Doers (Top of the Ladder)
Default mode: Low visibility, high impact.
Impact: Quietly deliver results that keep the business moving.
What you can do:
Actively spot them. After any major milestone or project, take a moment to recognize contributions, and ask yourself: Who actually did what? Don’t confuse presenters with performers.
Shine the light. Don’t let them hide in the shadows. Invite them to present, share wins, and get face time with leadership.
Protect and grow them. Give them stretch assignments, mentorship, autonomy. If you don’t nurture your doers, someone else will.
Conclusion
Every team, no matter how big or small, has doers, sayers, and naysayers.
If you don’t take the time to spot the patterns, you’ll end up rewarding the loudest voices instead of the strongest contributions. You’ll lose your best people to frustration and fatigue, not because they failed, but because they were ignored.
Leadership isn’t just about setting direction. It’s about shining the light where it matters.
So pay attention:
Look beyond the noise.
Elevate the quiet executors.
Hold the spotlight-chasers accountable.
Confront the chronic cynics.
Because at the end of the day, actions still speak louder than words.
What strategies have worked for you in identifying and empowering your doers? How have you handled sayers or naysayers? I’d love to hear your experience in the comments below. 👇
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In fact, we found people like this in all organizations.
These people is very difficult because creates bad environment and beside that don’t let the others work and be concentrate.
The solution is confront them and ask them to present solutions.
Do you have any research evidence to back up the claim that there are only “three types of people” in organisations, or is this just more opinion dressed up like facts?