Drucker said, “If you have quick consensus on an important matter, don’t make the decision.”*
Important decisions deserve rigorous debate. Constructive dissent makes them better.
Decisions go bad when…
- Alternatives aren’t explored.
- Risks aren’t challenged.
- Assumptions aren’t tested.
- Smart people defer to authority.
4 Ways to Improve Decisions
#1. Exercise transparency. Reject politics.
Hidden agendas are manipulation, not constructive dissent.
- Describe what you’re trying to accomplish.
- Explain what concerns you.
- Share the information you’re relying on.
- Clarify your reasoning.
Constructive dissent challenges ideas. Politics protects interests.
Public reason: “We need more analysis.”
Hidden agenda: “I don’t want another leader to get ahead.”
#2. Give permission to be challenged.
Without permission…
- “Will I look disloyal?”
- “Will this hurt my career?”
- “Does she really want my opinion?”
Giving permission…
- “Tell me what I’m missing.”
- “What concerns you about this idea?”
- “Who sees this differently?”
- “If you think I’m wrong, I want to hear it.”
#3. Change your mind.
Dissent is unimaginable when leaders don’t change their minds.
Employees notice when disagreement is punished. When you never admit you’re wrong, people stop speaking up.
Sincere questions aren’t challenges. Defensiveness ends debate.
#4. Engage people early in the process.
Dissent isn’t life or death when decisions are being formed.
Say things like…
- “We’re still forming this decision.”
- “I haven’t made up my mind.”
- “Help me see what I’m missing.”
- “Challenge the idea, not the person.”
Ignore status. Include frontline people.
Snobbery replaces honest debate with flattery.
More than 4,000 years ago, Ptahhotep wrote:
“Take counsel with the ignorant as well as the wise. … Good speech is hidden more than the emerald, but it may be found with young women at the grindstones.” (Ancient Egyptian sage.)
The purpose of dissent isn’t disagreement. It’s wisdom.
How can leaders make better decisions?
10 Things Leaders Misunderstand About Decisions Leadership Freak
*The Five Most Important Questions You Will Ever Ask About Your Organization
