The best people to work with say "you're right, I didn't see that" easily.

They come into conversations with opinions but don't treat them like property to defend. When you show them data they didn't have or point out something they missed, they adjust. Fast. No hedging, no face-saving, no "well actually what I meant was..."

This is rarer than it should be.

Most people present ideas as complete packages. They respond to questions by explaining why the question misses the point. When you offer a different perspective, they explain why they already considered it. Every conversation becomes a negotiation instead of an exploration.

The irony is that people who hold ideas loosely end up being right more often. Because they test their thinking against reality continuously. They don't wait for a formal review to find out their idea has a fatal flaw - they surface it in the first conversation. The final solution might look similar to their opening position, but it's better because it survived contact with other people's brains.

People who defend ideas like their job depends on it either get their proposal accepted without real scrutiny, which means it probably wasn't tested enough, or they get overruled entirely because they never gave the idea room to evolve.

What Good Looks Like

You show up with strong ideas. You've thought it through. But you treat that thinking as your best current answer, not your final answer.

When someone points out what you missed, you don't defend. You adjust. "You're right - I wasn't thinking about that constraint." "That's a better approach." "I didn't have that data."

The best solutions come from collision. Someone says "what about this?" Someone else says "that won't work because..." A third person says "but what if we..."

The magic is in the exchange. But only if everyone's there to find the best answer, not win the argument.

How to Encourage This

When someone points out a flaw in your thinking, say "you're right" out loud. Don't hedge it.

Present ideas as opening positions. "Here's what I'm thinking - what am I missing?"

Reward people who change their minds based on new information.

The work isn't having perfect ideas. The work is making them better.