I have a friend named Andre who is vision-impaired. He has a guide dog named Crimson. Crimson is trained to assist Andre as he navigates the day. The other day, Andre and I were walking together and Andre said to Crimson, “Crimson, right.” But instead of obeying, Crimson stopped. Andre said again, “Crimson, right.” But Crimson stayed where he was.
When I looked to see why Crimson did not obey, I realized that the curb Andre expected to step off of was about 18 inches high, rather than a normal height. If Crimson had turned right, chances are Andre would have fallen.
You see, Andre had walked this path before and thought he knew when to turn. But in fact, he had tried to turn right too soon. When I expressed surprise with Crimson’s reaction, Andre said, “Oh, that’s called intelligent disobedience. Crimson has been trained to stop when he detects danger.”
That got me thinking about the potential value of training those we lead to disobey intelligently. Well, maybe training is not the right word. Perhaps a better word would be permission. Have you ever been asked to do something you knew was not a good idea? We all have a one time or another. Chances are, you protested. Maybe you said, “No, that’s wrong,” or “That’s not a good idea.” Perhaps, you offered an alternative. In any case, you probably had the confidence to object.
But how about the people you supervise? Do they have the same level of confidence if they are asked to do something that they perceive as misguided? After all, there can be risk in doing so. You might upset the boss. You might be embarrassed if your alternative does not work out. You might discover that there is a back story you were unaware of.
As I have explained before, the brain can be mighty powerful in dissuading you from doing something if the outcome is uncertain. So when you’re asked to do something that, to you, does not seem right, you end up with a dilemma – speak up or just comply and let the chips fall where they may.
So why would someone simply comply rather than questioning what they’ve been asked or told to do? Two possible reasons. You might be able to think of a third or even a fourth. Reason number one, the boss told you to do it. And because he or she is the boss, they must know what they’re doing. Right? That’s when you get into an exchange like this:
Boss: “Why on earth would you do that?!”
You: “You told me to.”
Boss: “Well, why didn’t you say something if you knew it was wrong?”
You: “Because you’re the boss. I figured you knew what you were doing.”
Reason number two, the person is not invested enough to care. Do you know people like that? Sadly, there are a few in every work environment. Maybe they’re lazy. Maybe they don’t really care about the outcome. Maybe they have some ulterior motive about the boss looking stupid. Whatever.
Once again, you get an exchange like this:
“Why on earth would you do that?!”
“You told me to.”
“Well, why didn’t you say something if you knew it was wrong?”
“Because you’re the boss.” (Translation in this case? “It’s your funeral, not mine.”)
So how can we go about communicating and encouraging the concept of intelligent disobedience in those we lead? Here are a couple of ideas.
First, give them permission. As much as this might sound unnecessary, announce to your team that you are not infallible. You make mistakes and misinterpret situations just like they do. Let them know that you expect them to call you on decisions or directions that don’t appear to make sense. In some cases, there might be a reason for what you’re doing that they’re unaware of. But better to ask, or even challenge, rather than blindly following a request. In today’s overwhelming workplace, oversights are becoming more commonplace. Reinforce this concept. whenever these situations arise.
Second, celebrate the times when intelligent disobedience has saved the day. When these incidents do happen, mention them at the next meeting or send an email explaining what happened and laud the person involved for speaking up. Not only does this reinforce the concept of intelligent disobedience, it gives the person a pat on the back. We can all use more of those.
Now, all this sounds like common sense, right? But are the people you lead comfortable challenging your direction when they perceive that it’s the wrong way to go or see a better alternative? It may be human nature to think of alternatives when something doesn’t make sense. But it is not human nature to challenge the boss or the conventional wisdom. As a leader, you have to nurture that. But when you do, you will be rewarded with people who keep you and the organization’s best interests at heart and say something when a decision doesn’t make sense.
What do you do to improve the decision culture around you? We’d all like to know. Put your comments in the space below.