Disagreements Can Lead To Empowerment
“It’s always OK to disagree with your boss. When you support, empower and stand for your boss, your disagreement will make a difference for performance – and for your boss. It all depends on where you are coming from and your intent in the conversation. Ultimately, you could look at the outcome you want. Is it to empower your boss and the results to be produced together? Or is it for personal gratification?
Employees can get intimidated by authority, when it looks like the boss has the final say and nothing can be changed. They do what they’re supposed to do and keep their head down. The problem is this rarely produces great results, and in the long run leaves no one feeling empowered.” – Excerpt from Fortune Insider Network
We couldn’t have put it any better—the struggle between choosing self-gratification or team empowerment constantly plagues our minds. It’s a difficult choice and one that we cannot leave freestanding. However, disagreements can lead to empowerment.
Encouraging your team to speak their opinions, and “disagree” with you when appropriate, can help produce refined results and high quality outcomes. You want to empower your team and encourage them to bring who they are to the table—opinions, suggestions, ideas… etc.
It’s easy to disregard other’s opinions… even your own employees’! If you can tell it’s for their self-gratification, it makes it more difficult to consider their opinion as valid or helpful because you can tell it’s not for the sake of the team. On the other hand, you have team members who own the outcome and take hold of responsibilities to make sure every aspect is above par. These are the people you are drawn to and have a lot of faith in for good leadership.
Help your team best express their disagreements, and let them know they are heard. Silence and unspoken word will never help to solve issues or enhance anyone’s work. You don’t have to take a disagreement as a threat, but as an opportunity to grow the task being worked on.
Finally, if you would like to learn more about WorkCompass and our AI powered performance management software. Please get in touch today and request a demo.
