Being the one who says “I think this plan has a problem” in a room of nodding heads is worth ten silent yeses.

LEADERSHIP

WHAT THIS MEANS

Agreement in a group is often nobody’s actual opinion. People nod because everyone else is nodding, and the room ends up committed to something not one person fully believed. A single dissent is valuable precisely because it is costly to give, and it gives permission to everyone else holding the same doubt.

Raise the concern as a question rather than a verdict, and be specific about which part worries you. Offer what you think would fix it. If you turn out to be wrong, you cost the meeting two minutes; if you are right, you saved it months.

A QUESTION TO SIT WITH

Which flawed plan did you nod along with lately?

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