Productive Disagreement in Leadership

When I first heard about this idea, it seemed counterintuitive. After reading more about it, I understand better. One of the most significant indicators of a high-performing senior leadership team is its ability to engage in healthy and sometimes robust disagreement. I have witnessed several times where disagreement is seen as a sign of conflict or dysfunction, and when improperly handled, it can be a significant distraction. However, when appropriately led and directed, it becomes a powerful tool for growth, innovation, and stronger decision-making.

Why Disagreement is Essential

• Diverse Perspectives: We are all individuals.  That does not change when someone becomes part of a Senior leadership team.  We each come from different backgrounds, areas of expertise, and we hold unique points of view. When these diverse perspectives are shared openly and challenged constructively, it leads to a deeper and more comprehensive understanding of complex issues.

• Avoiding Groupthink: "Groupthink" is a phenomenon where harmony overrides realistic appraisal of alternatives, and healthy disagreement helps teams avoid this. I have heard stories of leaders who will tell their team members, when discussing an idea, that they must come up with ways to poke holes in that idea, to figure out the weaknesses. This helps force people away from uniformity and groupthink. When team members feel safe to express dissenting opinions, it prevents the team from blindly following the most dominant voice or the path of least resistance.

• Uncovering Hidden Assumptions: Disagreement often forces individuals to articulate their reasoning and justify their positions. It helps with working through emotional ties to decisions and fleshing out the facts and logic behind why things are done a certain way.  This process can also uncover hidden assumptions or biases that might otherwise go unchallenged. Getting past these hidden assumptions is key to leading to better-informed decisions.

• Stimulating Innovation: When different ideas collide, it can spark creativity and innovation. Well-navigated disagreement leads to the synthesis of new and better solutions, which likely would not have emerged from a more harmonious discussion.

• Building Trust: When disagreement is handled respectfully and constructively, it strengthens trust within the team. It demonstrates that team members value each other's opinions and are committed to finding the best solution, even if that requires challenging each other's thinking.  To read more about the value of trust in leadership, check out my previous post, “The Value of Trust in Leadership”.

Creating a Culture of Constructive Disagreement

• Psychological Safety: Team members must feel comfortable expressing their opinions, in the appropriate settings, without fear of retribution, judgment, or termination. Senior leaders need to actively foster this kind of corporate environment within their teams.

• Respectful Communication: This disagreement should always be respectful. Leadership team members need to focus on challenging ideas and avoid individual attacks.  It also needs to be received as constructive, understanding that the end desire for all is a successful outcome and growth for the company. This sometimes requires a “thick skin”, not allowing yourself to get emotional about someone disagreeing with or poking holes in your ideas.  Active listening, empathy, and open-mindedness are essential.

• Focus on the Goal: Keep the main thing, the main thing. The ultimate goal of any discussion should be to arrive at the best possible outcome for the organization. Leadership team members need to be willing to set aside personal agendas and focus on the objective merits of different points of view.

• Structured Dialogue: It may be helpful to establish upfront guidelines for how disagreements are to be handled. At times, this could include setting time limits for discussions, assigning roles (e.g., devil's advocate), or using techniques like structured debate.  There is value in insisting that someone disagrees with the prevailing point of view.

• Facilitation: In some cases, a neutral facilitator may be needed to help guide discussions and ensure that all voices are heard. This is particularly helpful when dealing with highly complex or emotionally charged issues.

The Payoff: Unity and Clarity

When senior leadership teams embrace healthy disagreement, the result is not division; rather, it builds greater unity. By allowing and carefully examining different perspectives and working through disagreements, the team arrives at a more robust and well-vetted conclusion. This process ensures that:

• Decisions are Better Informed: The final decision reflects the collective wisdom of the team, incorporating diverse viewpoints and identifying some known, potential pitfalls.

• Communication is Clearer: Since the team has thoroughly explored the issue, they can communicate it to the rest of the organization with greater clarity and confidence.

• Buy-in is Stronger: When team members feel their voices have been heard, they are more likely to buy into the final decision and support its implementation.

Disagreement within a senior leadership team should not be feared but rather embraced as a sign of trust, intellectual rigor, and commitment to excellence. These disagreements should not be aired in front of the rest of the team, and conclusions need to be settled within the senior leadership team before being shared and a uniform approach to communication must be adopted. By fostering a culture of constructive disagreement, leaders can be better at unlocking their team's full potential and drive their organization to greater levels of success.

The Last of the Amazons - Steven Pressfield

Image from Greek Reporter

Have you ever woken up one morning realizing everything you thought you knew about your life or career was about to change? That's the gut punch Steven Pressfield delivers in his captivating novel, 'The Last of the Amazons'.  In this novel, he transports us to a world facing unexpected and unplanned change, where the legendary Amazons, a society of warrior women, face the end of their society. The book highlights Theseus, the Athenian hero, and his encounter with the Amazon queen, Hippolyta. The book delves into the complex dynamics of a society grappling with internal strife, external threats, and the inevitable shift of power. While it is unlikely that you have experienced the same level of alteration in your life.  The struggle for survival, the clash of cultures, and the exploration of leadership in the face of extinction outlined in this book provide powerful metaphors for the challenges and opportunities we face in business and personal lives today.

 When being introduced to new business models or working conditions, we can use the illustration of Hippolyta, and the burden of leadership during a time of profound transition. She is torn between holding tight to the traditions of her ancestors and adapting to the changing realities of the world. This resonates with the challenges faced by leaders in today's rapidly evolving business landscape. Whether it's digital transformation, adapting to new market trends, or building a new career, leaders must balance the need to honor established principles with the imperative to innovate and adjust. Hippolyta's struggle to maintain unity within her ranks while facing external pressures reflects the complexities of managing teams and navigating client relationships, especially in a fractional capacity where you're often working with diverse groups and established organizational cultures. 

 Like how the ability to predict how dynamics shift with the addition of new stakeholders is difficult.  The conflict between the Amazons and the Greeks represents a clash of cultures, values, and ways of life. Pressfield masterfully portrays the strengths and weaknesses of both societies, highlighting the importance of understanding different perspectives. In the business world, especially in leadership roles, this ability to understand diverse perspectives is crucial. Whether you're working with clients from different industries, managing multicultural teams, or navigating complex stakeholder relationships, the ability to empathize, communicate effectively, and bridge cultural divides is essential for success. This theme is particularly relevant to the challenges of building a managed services practice, where understanding diverse client needs is paramount to building trust and delivering value.

 Despite facing overwhelming odds, the Amazons demonstrate remarkable resilience and adaptability. Even in the face of their impending decline, they fight fiercely to preserve their way of life and find a new path forward. This theme of resilience is highly relevant to our personal and professional development. In our careers, we inevitably face setbacks, challenges, and unexpected changes. Adapting, learning from our experiences, and persevering in the face of adversity is crucial for achieving our goals. This is especially true for entrepreneurs and those building new businesses or practices, where adaptability and resilience are key to navigating uncertainty and achieving long-term success.  My question is, how well are we leading through the changes we see in business?  Are we communicating clear and understandable messages?  Are we connecting with those in our care?

 Just as the Amazons faced the challenge of adapting to a changing world, businesses today face constant pressure to innovate and evolve. Whether it's through strategic leadership or the implementation of tailored services, helping companies navigate these challenges and achieve their full potential is my core mission. By understanding the principles of leadership, resilience, and cultural understanding, we can empower businesses to thrive in today's dynamic environment. If you are interested in having a conversation about how I can be of service to you, feel free to reach out to todd@toddrthomsen.com.

The Virtues of War: A Novel of Alexander the Great

Image from AhramOnline

Steven Pressfield's "The Virtues of War", we read a compelling portrait of Alexander the Great, not merely as a military genius, but as a complex and multifaceted leader. While the backdrop is ancient warfare, the principles of leadership, strategy, and resilience depicted in the novel resonate deeply with the challenges and opportunities I have witnessed in today's business world. As I've reflected on Alexander's approach to leadership, I've found striking parallels to the skills and mindset required for success in building managed services practices and providing effective fractional CIO/IT Leadership services. It's not about conquering territories, but about conquering challenges, building strong teams, and delivering impactful results for our clients.

One of Alexander's defining traits was his strategic brilliance. He was a master of anticipating his enemies' moves, adapting his tactics on the fly, and seizing opportunities that others missed. This strategic agility is paramount in today's rapidly changing technological landscape. When developing IT roadmaps for clients as a fractional CIO, or when building a new managed services offering, the ability to analyze market trends, anticipate client needs, and adapt to unforeseen circumstances is crucial. Just as Alexander adapted his strategies on the battlefield, we must be willing to adjust our approaches and solutions to ensure we're delivering maximum value and achieving our clients’ objectives. This ability to pivot and adapt to changing conditions is essential for providing effective fractional services where each client presents a unique set of challenges.

Alexander's ability to inspire unwavering loyalty and motivate his troops to extraordinary feats is another key takeaway from "The Virtues of War." Building and leading high-performing teams is essential in any leadership role, and it's especially critical in the context of managed services. Whether managing an internal team or collaborating with client teams in a fractional capacity, the ability to communicate a clear vision, foster a collaborative environment, and motivate individuals to achieve common goals is paramount. Just as Alexander inspired his troops to fight for a shared purpose, we must inspire our teams to deliver exceptional service and build strong client relationships. This is even more important in a fractional role, as you are often integrating with existing teams and need to quickly build trust and rapport.

Beyond strategy and motivation, Alexander's success stemmed from his unwavering discipline and relentless focus on execution. A brilliant strategy is meaningless without the discipline to implement it effectively. This is equally true in the business world. Whether it's managing a complex IT project, delivering ongoing managed services, or providing strategic guidance as a fractional CIO, discipline, and execution are essential for achieving desired outcomes. In my experience, building a successful managed services practice requires meticulous planning, consistent execution, and a commitment to continuous improvement. Just as Alexander demanded the highest standards from his troops, we must demand excellence from ourselves and our teams to deliver impactful results for our clients.

Read, adapt, apply, teach, grow…these are all essential in today’s business climate. Reach out to me at todd@toddrthomsen.com if you would like to discuss leadership mentoring or coaching.