No to "Yes Men"

Encourage your people to give you honest feedback

It feels good to have people agree with us. But if we are making a bad choice, it’s MUCH better to know that BEFORE getting in too deep.

Ask your people to tell you if they have concerns about a plan, including (but not limited to) if they have workarounds or fixes for the problem. Brainstorm with them on different approaches and strategies. If asking in a group makes you feel too stressed, talk to each person privately.

Don’t disrespect your people by dismissing their concerns. They will stop coming to you with them. Best case, acknowledge the issue and thank them for bringing it to your attention. If you have a solution, ask them to consider if it would solve the problem. If not, ask them to look into solutions that might work.

Give credit where credit is due. When someone thinks of something you hadn’t and saves you time/money/effort/embarrassment, acknowledge how “your good advice and sound judgment saved me from making a blunder. I’m SO glad I listened to you.” They will feel your validation and respect, and they will speak up again.

(Photo by Josh Kahen on Unsplash)