What is harder for leaders to achieve? Getting people to agree with them OR to get people to disagree with them?
I believe it is the latter.
I can almost hear some of you asking, “But why would a leader what their team to disagree? Don’t we want our teams to agree with what we say?
But I think that if a team always agrees with the leader there is something seriously wrong.
Either the team members don’t feel psychologically safe to disagree
OR
They don’t care enough about the goals to engage in a discussion
And it is always much harder for a team member to raise a voice of dissent than to agree. It is always safer to agree.
Every time a team member disagrees with a leader they risk losing goodwill, promotions, opportunities, and performance grade.
But every time a team member does not voice their thoughts the leader and the organisation stand to lose ideas, innovation, and information. They lose the advantage of the team members’ perspective experience and knowledge
And that’s what it all comes down to
- No leader knows it all
- No leader has all the information
And great leaders gather people with diverse thoughts, perspectives and expertise around them. So that they can tap into a wider source of information and knowledge when they make decisions
So if you are a leader looking to create a high-performance team:
- Start by making it safe for your team to share their thoughts.
- Encourage our team to share their honest opinion especially when they are different from you w own.
- Learn to listen calmly without getting defensive.
- Engage in honest, respectful, vulnerable conversations.
You might just be surprised by what your team has to offer!!