Speaking Up

Can your people talk to you?

I love being told how great my ideas are.

But if my idea is flawed, I want to know about it before I implement it. A team of only “yes-men” will lead to bad decisions. I need my people to be able to talk to me honestly and tell me we need to consider doing something else. I don’t want argument for argument’s sake, of course. I want to make sure that what our team puts out into the world is the best it can be. I don’t want people just nay-saying “that’ll never work” or otherwise derailing things—I want people to come with suggestions and tweaks that lead to success.

Ask your people for their input. “I’m looking at ways we can do X. Take a look at the options and let me know what you think is the best plan.”

Remind them that you want their input. “I don’t know what I don’t know. If I’m not considering something, please help me by bringing it to my attention.”

Acknowledge their contributions. “When we were looking to do X, Pat was the person who suggested we use Y. That saved us a lot of wasted effort—thanks, Pat!”

(Photo by Júnior Ferreira on Unsplash)