Intelligent Disobedience!
The provision of an environment where everyone is equal value – where pre-emptive & groupthink are not welcome. Where people live up to expectations, not down to which becomes self-fulfilling.
The Leader is not the solution but the facilitator – clarity is achieved through connectedness – not consensus; through energy, trust, respect and that is achieved through effective listening –A L A L A
The LEADER is a facilitator, not the solution!
To achieve that, questions must be asked, responses listened to carefully and no, but and can’t avoided as reactions. Connecting with the disconnected is an imperative and that can be done through clear thinking and the use of Intelligent Disobedience!
Leadership!
The management style of Command & Control deadens down participation & thinking generally.
Leadership is about enlivening capacity & that’s about trust, respect, inclusion & positive expectation. This is built on successful personal feedback and coaching of ‘gaps’.
Emotional Intelligence and Intelligent Disobedience cultures are the foundation – making it not only safe to hold a different opinion but also expected to share. Unsafe not to participate but supported in doing so.
Getting past, past conclusions.
Even people in ‘top’ positions bring baggage, this accounts for bullying, command & control, and submissive and passive-aggressive behaviour, that is tied to respondents being submissive – need to keep the job thinking.
People all through an organisation have ‘pasts, and that serves them to draw on those experiences to believe, too often, the worst of their superior’s behaviour. Too many promises broken, and negative situations that place people into a guarded and uncertain frame of mind.
Intelligent Disobedience comes with the promise that you will only get a place at the table if you argue!
That is, come along and ‘test me out’; see if I encourage you to say your thoughts or as you might expect, close you down! Maybe my past behaviour had elements of that or, past your employers.
See when I encourage conversation to support your thoughts, give everyone’s idea appropriate airing – respect and trust!
“I share my first physical layout of implementation and ask you for your input – what can you see might need more thought, what have you experienced before that is problematic, what new thoughts do you have”, sort of thing.
THE BASIS OF Intelligent Disobedience is no one agrees with anyone – there must be new conversation and new ideas. No agreeable nodding of the heads, or quiet agreement – but a desire, an expectation that, as DeBono says, there must always be at least three ways forward.
Why is this so important
Good, experienced successful people can become avowed with the thought, that know it all – now they don’t always say that but, too often they actually think, “I will think this through and then share it”. Once shared, the fun and respect and trust of being involved in the embryonic thoughts are lost – now “I am just an accomplice”, expected to applaud and do the work – a soldier of low ranking.
The benefit of “one plus a number is greater than the sum of the number” opportunity is lost! Too often that is replaced with disconnection, absenteeism, people turn-over and even looking to conspire to hurt the business – it could start with poor customer service, poor inventory control, lack of attention to lead times causing out of stocks, to interfering with the enterprise’s IT. MAny ways for people to impact negatively on a business that does not respect them.
Concept, Capacity, Customers, Competition, and Cashflow. These are markers of thinking relative to a business and are supported by objectives, strategies and tactics, implementation plans and reviews that guide the people of the business to achieve the necessary outcomes.
The more ‘the people of the business are accessed’ the more likely the desired outcomes will be achieved – maybe even amended. This is not about ‘senior management’. the ‘management team’, and ‘department heads’ are old-fashioned terms and concepts devised to give some people some sense of added self-worth and many people, the sense of being ‘functionaries! Low value, replace with robots!
How many excellent strategies have I seen ambushed, torpedoed, by disaffected ‘staff’?
How many good and high-potential staff have I seen managed out because of ‘upper management’ being poor leaders and blaming it on their people?
Too many!
The concept of Intelligent disobedience can help managers become leaders and the disaffected, contributors.