How Leaders Can Encourage Real Debate

"We welcome dissent here." Executives and volunteer leaders love to say that, understanding that it's important to include debate and fresh ideas.

But including isn't the same thing as welcoming. Like an "open door" policy where the boss is only open to a certain kind of interruptions, inviting debate can sometimes be a pro-forma exercise before following through on a leader's predetermined path.

A thoughtful piece in Stanford Social Innovation Review, “Teaching Disagreement Is Leadership Work,” speaks to that challenge and offers some advice about how to move beyond rubber-stamping-with-room-for-disagreement” into something more authentic. The authors' main point is that dissent is a deliberate practice, not an agenda item. "Disagreement does not emerge fully formed, nor does it improve simply because leaders grant team members permission to speak up," they write. "People learn how to disagree by observing what leaders reward, ignore or subtly discourage."

Please select this link to read the complete article from Associations Now.