The Mirage of Consensus
If you ever find yourself agreeing with everything that your leader says, first check to see if you’re in a cult.? If you’re not in a cult, ask yourself why you agree so consistently.? While it’s possible that the two of you are mental twins a far more likely reason is that it’s borne out of emotion:? Idolization of a talented leader, blind hope that they are right, or even fear of backlash from dissent. Whatever the reason, keeping alternative viewpoints to yourself is a disservice to your organization and its leadership. ?
As a new manager, I hired an engineer, much wiser than myself, who told me “if you or I agree on everything, one of us is not necessary.”? While he wasn’t the first one to coin that phrase that was the first time I had heard that the value of dissent expressed quite that way, and it really stuck with me.? If you’re such a brilliant leader that every time you talk your team immediately aligns to your point of view you may need to make some changes. You are likely leaving some of the best ideas in the room on the table and are blind to your own worst ones. It’s time to evaluate your communication and leadership behaviors to permit and even encourage dissent.
This can be challenging; after all, many of us became leaders at least in part because of our ability to ensure our voice is heard in influencing vision and decisive execution. As the senior leader in the room, it can be hard to pull out of that mode.? Sometimes the correct path seems obvious, and it feels like a waste of time to evaluate alternatives; however the risks of not creating a culture that accepts and even encourages dissent are significant.
As a cadet at West Point, one of the case studies we reviewed in our psychology for leaders’ class was the failed Bay-of-Pigs invasion.? The decision making failures leading up to this event contributed to the coining of the term “groupthink” by psychologist Irving Janis.? Many senior officials had serious doubts about the plan’s viability but did not voice their opinion.? The outcome was group consensus supporting an invasion doomed to spectacular failure.
So, how do you avoid this leadership pitfall? Here are a few straightforward practices:
1.?????? Speak Last: This common practice is used by Jeff Bezos, and I first learned it from observing successful senior officers in the Army. As the senior leader, the moment you voice your opinion on a topic you taint the idea pool.? People will be reluctant to voice differing opinions or may even change their views unwittingly.? Remind yourself to figuratively (or literally if necessary) bite your tongue until you’ve heard from your team which admittedly can be difficult at times.
2.?????? Identify who isn’t talking:? One pitfall is presumed consensus.? Once enough team members align behind one opinion dissenters may become silent.? Different communication styles mean some people find it hard to speak up in larger groups or against vocal personalities.? Look for team members who aren’t speaking and ask for their input.? Assign someone to ensure everyone speaks if you find it hard to remember yourself.? Often, ?your best ideas come from those who have been quietly reflecting on the situation.?
3.?????? Assign a “10th person”: This practice goes by many names: devil’s advocate, red-teaming, contrarian thinking.? But, my favorite example is from the zombie movie “World War Z”.? In that movie a character describes a fictional 10th man policy where if nine people in a group of ten agree the 10th person must disagree.? As entertainingly ridiculous as the rest of the movie was this is a solid practice.? It ensures that a dissenting viewpoint is at least discussed and provides a platform for those hesitant to voice a differing opinion.
These are just a few straight-forward ways to increase diversity of though through constructive dissent.? Despite the above it’s important to recognize that not all dissent is healthy.? Use other leadership tools to prevent dissent from becoming divisive or stagnating decision making in endless debate.? While consensus is not necessary, alignment is.? As a leader make it clear when a decision has been made so that the team can move forward.? However, an honest expression of appreciation is important to ensure that you don’t preempt future dissent on other topics.
The pursuit of consensus can lead leaders and teams into a deceptive comfort zone. The reality is that healthy teams thrive on differing viewpoints; it’s okay to disagree! Prioritizing consensus over healthy idea exchange can lead down a path of blissful ignorance, only to reveal that the consensus was a mirage.