Picking great leaders? That's a tough one. An easier question is to ask "What prompts a Lead 'Hat' stick with an idea though it doesn't seem to be the 'best' id

Picking great leaders? That's a tough one. An easier question is to ask "What prompts a Lead 'Hat' stick with an idea though it doesn't seem to be the 'best' idea?" Developers/designers using OP's two-way criticism style are really removing their own egos and emotions from the discussion and letting ideas honestly fight for themselves. I suspect that the Lead "Hat" is a conduit between developers/designers and executives and it's naturally difficult to convey, let alone objectively discuss corporate objectives in a development/design meeting. The takeaway for Lead Hat lurkers on HN would be to (unfortunately) expose developers/designers to a wider scope of the project when the ideas are fighting, so they can understand where you're coming from.