A common scenario for all middle managers happens when you must support an organizational effort that you disagree with, like what market to invest in, what customer needs are most vital to the business’s health, or how to attract quality staff.
Yet, as a leader within your organization, you have a responsibility to support the decision and get your team in action to make it happen.
Supporting a decision you disagree with can be frustrating – especially when your team feels the same way. While you may wish you could change things, when push comes to shove, your team must present their best effort in working to accomplish the goal. This means that despite your personal feelings or misgivings, you must insist that the team do their part. But how can you lead convincingly, build trust, or create a space for healthy collaboration when you disagree with the fundamentals of the project?
Be as candid as you can be – without undermining the organization
At the end of the day, your job is to support the decisions that get made at the organizational level – no matter if you agree with them or not, and you need to do this to the best of your ability. If you bash the ideas openly or dismiss the goals not only are you failing in your role within the organization, you are setting your team up for failure. You may be completely certain that your management has set you on the wrong path, but your reluctance in embracing the challenge means that any results you obtain will be called into question – especially if they prove you right.
At the same time, your employees can tell when you aren’t on board. Even if you don’t voice your opposition to the plan, your lack of enthusiasm and nonverbal communication will give away your true thoughts.
Instead, tell your team that the organization has determined the best direction and that this is the final word. Let them know you are not sure it is the right choice, but you are willing to be proven wrong – meaning they must put their best effort forward.
Focus on collaborating and building consensus around the HOW
You may not have chosen WHAT you are doing, but you and your team have a voice in HOW the work gets done. Hold brainstorming sessions, allow your team to collaborate, and engage in healthy conflict around the best approach to achieving the goal. By centering the conversation around how you sidestep the tendency for teams to create a pros and cons list around the value of the goal itself.
Share as much information with your team as possible
When we disagree with a decision made above us, we can unconsciously work against it if we aren’t careful. One of the main ways this can manifest is in a tendency to hoard information. Instead, commit to becoming a source of information with your team and being a conduit between the team you lead and the one you participate in. Fully sharing information about progress and passing along questions is a critical feature of your role within the organization, and your team depends on you.
Remember to Disagree and Commit
You may have been able to disagree with the project, but now that the decision has been made, it’s important to commit. You and your team want to be known as reliable, and that means delivering what is expected regardless of how valuable you think it is.
This will undoubtedly happen often throughout your management career, and knowing how to handle it without throwing others under the bus will distinguish you as a professional who can be relied upon and demonstrate your teamwork.
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