I had the pleasure of hearing astronaut Mark Kelly speak at an Inc 500 conference. According to Mark, you will see the title of this blog plastered on conference room walls at NASA as a key lesson from the Challenger and Columbia shuttle disasters. Ever been in a meeting with your CEO and 5 others when the client asks a question and the CEO answers first? How often does someone in the room openly disagree with the CEO’s answer? It’s so easy to just agree. It’s so hard to figure out how to voice your dissent.
So if you are the client or the project manager or the VP, when you are in a group setting, ask the individuals lower on the leadership rung first or collect data from them individually prior to the meeting. That’s so much easier than trying to convince everyone else it’s ok to disagree with the leader (although I’d encourage that as well).
So if you are the client or the project manager or the VP, when you are in a group setting, ask the individuals lower on the leadership rung first or collect data from them individually prior to the meeting. That’s so much easier than trying to convince everyone else it’s ok to disagree with the leader (although I’d encourage that as well).