You're facing a team member who challenges your strategic decisions. How will you assert your leadership?

When faced with a team member challenging my strategic decisions, I lean into the concept of "obligation to dissent," which I value. In one instance, a colleague pushed back on my proposed new growth initiative. Instead of asserting authority, I welcomed the challenge and encouraged them to present data to support their concerns. This led to a constructive conversation that improved our final strategy and ensured everyone’s buy-in. Encourage Constructive Dissent: Create an environment where challenges are welcome when backed by data. Explain Decisions Thoroughly: Share the root causes of decisions to foster understanding. Prioritize Buy-In Over Authority: Focus on ensuring the team believes in the strategy by valuing their input.

Facing a team member who challenges your strategic decisions can be an opportunity to strengthen your leadership. Here’s how you can assert your leadership effectively: -Listen to the feedback -Stay Calm and Professional -Encourage Open Dialogue -Foster transparency -Make inclusion your priority -Seek common ground -Also reinforce decisions based on experience, expertise and current dynamics Hope this helps.

Actively listening to team members fosters trust. When people feel heard, they're more likely to respect your leadership, even if they disagree with the final decision. It shows that you value their input, which strengthens relationships within the team. Sometimes a team member's challenge comes from seeing something you might have missed. By giving them the space to voice their concerns, you may uncover insights or potential risks that could enhance your strategy. This can ultimately lead to better decision-making.

I always let team members voice concerns, ideas, grievances, etc. At a previous job I had a subordinate who frequently challenged me (usually with an agenda). When this person would become negatively critical I would, if the project allowed, let him run with his idea. It would either defuse his criticism or we would end up with a new, successful outcome. Even when he failed, the experience usually generated data that was useful. I can't say he ever learned from these experiences, but it empowered everybody else to feel comfortable expressing competing views and reinforced the cultural point that when one person succeeds, we all succeed.

I would often flip the script on the person challenging my direction. I would ask them to explain how their competing idea supported the larger strategy. Almost always the issue was that they were not fully aware of, or misunderstood, the bigger picture. This usually was a result of the person not having enough background or experience yet, or that I did not clearly lay out the strategy at the beginning.

Empathy fosters psychological safety within the team. When people feel that their emotions and perspectives are respected, they are more likely to take risks, share ideas, and contribute openly, which is vital for innovation and problem-solving. Showing empathy means recognizing that behind every disagreement, there are emotions and motivations. By acknowledging how the team member feels-whether it's frustration, concern, or fear-you humanize the interaction and create a more supportive environment. In essence, empathy helps maintain a positive and trusting team environment, even when asserting authority. It can improve team morale, defuse conflict, and enhance collaboration without weakening your leadership position.

Data always formed the foundation of our decision making. But in our industry the real success was in interpreting the numbers. All of my team members were free to rework the data, but it almost always came down to the conclusions that could be drawn. This is where they needed to trust my experience, and trust my willingness to reevaluate if a good counter case was made.

I always tried to talk less and listen more. When everybody had their say I would, if time allowed, not make a decision right away. Even if I was sure in my decision, I wanted to give the challenge the respect all my team deserved. And some distance on situations that can lead to emotional responses is always good policy.

In my experience, when a team member challenges your strategic decisions, it's essential to lead by example. Rather than reacting defensively, start by actively listening to their viewpoint. This demonstrates confidence and fosters a culture where constructive debate is valued. Remain steady and clear in your communication. Calmly explaining the reasoning behind your decisions reinforces your authority while respecting differing opinions. And, take decisive action to show your commitment to the strategy. Your actions should reflect not only confidence in your direction but also a willingness to adapt if new perspectives come to light. Leadership is about guiding the team, and your example sets the tone for others to follow.