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Don’t Be Afraid to Speak Your Mind |
Many years ago I attended a meeting in the office of one of my clients. At the time I owned a marketing and advertising agency and was invited to the meeting to share my ideas on how the company might position its new technology product. This was the early 1990s, an exciting time, since technology was about to explode.
In attendance were the company president, the executive team, myself, and another outside consultant who had initially brought me into the company to help with new product launches.
The president was proposing his ideas about what to call the company’s latest breakthrough product and how best to proceed. It was obvious to my friend Bill and I that he had no idea how to successfully launch the product and that if his suggestions were implemented, the launch would never succeed. The president went on and on about how we should do this and that and how the project should be carried out.
Looking around the room I saw the various key executives nodding in agreement with his ideas. The only ones not nodding were Bill and I. We knew the ideas would not work.
Looking back, I realize the others knew it too, but none of them spoke up. Either they were worried that disagreeing with the boss might cost them their jobs, or they simply wanted to make the boss like them by agreeing with his ideas, however absurd.
Fortunately for the organization, Bill voiced his objections. He said that as a consultant he was being paid for his opinion and that if he didn’t speak up he’d be shortchanging the company. He essentially told the president, in polite terms, that the ideas he was suggesting would not work. He then went on to explain why.
I’ll never forget the look on the faces of the managers in attendance. They could not believe that someone would have the audacity to contradict the company’s founder and chief executive. I think they were waiting for Bill to be fired and thrown out of the meeting.
Instead, the president laughed and thanked my friend for his courage in speaking out and, after listening to Bill’s reasons for opposing the idea, agreed that his own ideas would, in fact, most likely not work.
Successful businesspeople know that they are not infallible and will respect you for voicing an opposing opinion. Of course, be sure to do so respectfully. No one in a top position really wants a bunch of yes men or women in the organization. If they do, you can be pretty certain that the company will not succeed. I’m sure there are examples that prove the opposite but, for the most part, true leaders expect to be wrong some of the time and rely on their employees to point out when they are.
If you find yourself in a situation where disagreeing with your boss is in the best interest of the organization, do it. Of course, it is best done in private, when possible. No one, even a tough business leader, likes to be corrected publicly. The exception to this practice is during high-level management meetings like the one described above. In these situations, disagreement and intense debate are expected.
Companies need leaders, people who are willing to speak their minds, even if it means contradicting their bosses, so long as it is the best interest of the organization.
If you want to be happier and more successful in your work, don’t be afraid to speak your mind. Of course, don’t forget that you are not infallible, either.