Too often in business, people want to be nice, avoid
conflict or not upset their boss or co-workers by stating their true
opinions. All that does is create
problems for all involved. You get
frustrated that the business is not going in the direction you think is most
logical. And, the listener is provided
an opinion from you, which they think you are supportive of, that is
potentially the wrong direction for the business and not truly what you feel is
the right thing to do. Hence, keeping
the listener headed in the wrong direction.
In business, and particularly in
startups where you cannot afford to waste time or resources heading down the
wrong direction, there is only one mandate to live by: always call it like you see it, regardless
your role or title.
A CASE STUDY
I was recently at a client planning session. Before the meeting, the COO and CFO were confiding
in me that they felt the CEO was heading in the wrong direction, and they
wanted the business to make a material pivot to keep the company from wasting
any further resources going down a “snake hole”. But, when the time came during the meeting
for them to communicate that belief to their CEO, they refused to state that
opinion. And, worse yet, they succumbed
to the “my way or the highway” personality of the CEO, and verbally told him
they were in agreement with the CEO’s direction (despite their true feelings to
the contrary). In the meantime, the team
is getting burned out and is losing confidence in their leader, and the CEO has
no idea that employee dissatisfaction is monopolizing the talk around the water
cooler, and has employees looking for the door.
What a mess!!
So, I have no problem stating my true opinion. I decided I would raise the topic with the
CEO, on behalf of the COO and CFO, but with the message coming from me, not
them. And, guess what? The CEO didn’t lop off my head. He listened thoughtfully, and it stimulated a
healthy conversation on how best to fix the business. Had I not been there to deliver the message,
the business would still be staring over the edge of the abyss. This is not about kudos to me for saving the
day; this is about the lack of kudos to the COO and CFO that lacked the strength of stating their
true opinion to their CEO, regardless of not wanting to upset him or triggering
off his explosive personality.
GUIDANCE FOR MANAGERS
When you are managing a team of employees, you owe it to
them to be honest with them. If you
don’t clearly communicate they are not doing a good job, they won’t know how to
improve. If you don’t clearly
communicate you disagree with their ideas, you are losing out on an opportunity
to help mentor them into your desired direction.
GUIDANCE FOR
EMPLOYEES
On the flipside, as an employee, it is not healthy to think
one thing and say or do another. Your
boss didn’t hire you to keep your good ideas to yourself, even if those ideas
are in direct contradiction to the current beliefs of the team. You can’t be so worried about upsetting your
boss (or worse yet, losing your job), by putting your true opinion on the
table. The upside is, your good ideas
will resonate and get adopted. The worst
case, they disagree with you and you move on.
And, if management continually shoots down your ideas, maybe that is a
signal that is not the right company for you (or vice versa).
ALWAYS BE NICE ABOUT
IT
Nowhere in this post am I recommending you be mean, rude or
disrespectful when delivering your opinion.
All I am saying is, always say what you truly are thinking, for maximum
satisfaction and optimal business results for all.
For future posts, please follow me on Twitter at: @georgedeeb.