Let's Face It, Debate is Needed in The Workplace
15 years ago, in a conference room somewhere in the world, an ambitious up-and-coming executive for Barnes and Noble more than likely argued that Amazon was a fad and that it wasn't going to disrupt their business model. Their customers were “all extremely loyal” and would “continue coming back to the store for all their book needs”. Now, that executive is 15 years wiser, has probably moved on, and (hopefully) has learned their lesson.
In a world where people opine their views and not the facts, we always run the risk of keeping our blinders up in the board room or in the office. So many leaders don't want to get into debates about change, risk, and threats because debates can be so contentious in this day and age. It makes things even worse to know that, as of late, debates tend to be based off of opinions and not facts. This, of course, makes it almost impossible for debates to end productively. As that Barnes and Noble executive with excellent hindsight would tell you, the fate of your business could very well depend on being able to realistically assess the risks, threats, and changes to your industry on the horizon. So who’s responsibility is it to bring facts back to the workplace? Furthermore, how can we go about reintroducing said facts into the business arena in order to engender healthy debate?
Today's tidbit is all about letting facts lead your people and your organization.
If we have any hope of getting people back to the level of civility in debate that we once enjoyed, it must be introduced from the top down by leadership. Well, leader, where to start? A great first step is to begin with something that is irrefutable. For example, your financial statements would be something classified as irrefutable (one would assume if you are reading this, you are following GAAP). There is no arguing about weather or not you hit your budget. Regardless of if you did or did not, there is a reason behind that result.
If you tug at that string long enough, there will come a time when you can start asking the question, "WHY"? Why did we hit budget? What worked? Why didn’t we hit budget? What went wrong? When you ask a group of people why something worked or didn’t work, debate will naturally occur. In this situation, you as the leader become the moderator of the debate. As moderator, it is your job to keep the group from becoming unruly and uncooperative so that they can learn from each other and truly unearth the causes and effects of the company’s successes and failures. Your moderation is key; no one wants a presidential debate redo on their hands. That isn't good for anybody.
In his book, Principles: Life and Work, Ray Dalio talks about the policy of idea meritocracy (google it if you’re not familiar). For the most part I agree with this principle wholeheartedly. As leaders institute more debate in the work place with the goal of making your organization stronger, however, you need to manage everyone's input. In every organization, you have those that are quiet and reserved and you have those that are outspoken and determined. Ensuring that everyone gets to voice their thoughts and views about facts helps to keep a balanced perspective of the situation. If you don't moderate the flow of opinions and views, the outspoken will keep the quiet peoples’ voices from being heard.
As the facilitator of healthy discussions that have the power to make or break a business, there are so many things to monitor and consider. I would argue that one thing rises above the rest in its importance. Embracing the beauty of differing opinions in the work place is paramount. By embracing this difference, civility and healthy debate will reign. Right now, we live in a world where if you disagree with me, you are demonized. That could not be further from the truth. By keeping opposing sides of a debate focused on facts and irrefutable figures, you can more readily spot threats and potential changes on the horizon from all directions, not just one. The business is either winning the game or losing the game; no opinion can change that.
If we are going to get back to civility in our country we will need to embrace debates, but only debates in which truth is king. We need to be able to see the situation as a whole and without blinders - not only through our own vantage point.
Enjoy!
Brandon