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Encourage the dissenters

“The pro-change constituency must always be more powerful than the no-change constituency.”

There is a tendency in every organization to discount disputatious or divergent points of view. Those with an interest in defening the status quo often regard dissent as subverssive. Yet history shows it was often the malcontents and the contrarians who had the most prescient view of tomorrow’s threats and opportunities. So rather than marginalize the outliers, organizations must ensure that their voices are heard. Internal debates about strategy and policy must be vigorous, open and uncensored, and every management processes must encourage those with discomforting views to speak up.

18 Stories
36 Hacks
5 Barriers

Encourage the dissenters

“The pro-change constituency must always be more powerful than the no-change constituency.”

There is a tendency in every organization to discount disputatious or divergent points of view. Those with an interest in defening the status quo often regard dissent as subverssive. Yet history shows it was often the malcontents and the contrarians who had the most prescient view of tomorrow’s threats and opportunities. So rather than marginalize the outliers, organizations must ensure that their voices are heard. Internal debates about strategy and policy must be vigorous, open and uncensored, and every management processes must encourage those with discomforting views to speak up.

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Every new employee at Red Hat quickly learns about memo-list, one of the most visible elements of the Red Hat culture.
Story by DeLisa Alexander on August 24, 2011
Many managers ask their employees questions that open up thinking to problems, challenges, new ideas, and improvements.Unfortunately, some managers use these questions only to fulfill a social functio
Barrier by Kraig Parkinson on April 30, 2010
Engaging senior level experience in a constructive way by creating critical friends.
Hack by Mark McDonald on August 30, 2011
Given the total lack of evidence that developing leaders actually results in better organizational performance, maybe it is time to convert what we know about leadership.
The greatest risk today - in an increasingly networked world where the cost of experimentation is dropping, may very well be that the hazards of standing still outweigh those of unmitigated experiment
Hack by Paul Higgins on July 5, 2011
Implement a pattern derivation system based on the conversations people in your organization have about their work life, stress level, relationship with management and co-workers and workplace environ
Hack by Aditya Ghuwalewala on October 30, 2013
New ideas, and feedback on existing ideas would be a lot more vibrant with support for anonymous publishing. No filtering, no censorship, just trust in your people to contribute honestly
Hack by brendan coram on May 12, 2010
This article has been written as one of the requirements to obtain the Innovation Mentor Certification at CIMp.
Story by David Graham IV on August 14, 2017
Many employees are afraid to admit that they do not have enough work because they fear that they might be laid off if word gets out.
Barrier by Anusha John on August 13, 2010

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