Monday, 6 February 2012 at 09:47, By Ron Ashkenas and Holly Newman
Many situations in today’s business world can cause us to question authoritative voices: A manager asks you to spend time on a drawn-out analytical project that you know will produce little value; a customer insists on a delivery schedule that is likely to produce inventory gaps; a client asks for shortsighted solutions when you know that alternate approaches will produce more significant, long-term results. All of these situations present a choice between following a prescribed path, or our own instincts.
It’s a tough choice, because most of us are programmed from an early age to defer to authority even if we don’t understand or agree with the instructions. As a result, we tend to disregard our internal compasses and follow along, even when the data tells us otherwise.
So how can you counter your conditioning and question authority? Here are some ways to start:
Stop and listen to your inner voice. Give yourself a moment to take a deep breath and consider what’s going on. Do your instincts and experience suggest alternatives to doing what you’ve been told? Is there data to support your position or is it just a hunch?
Constructively question. If you think that doing things another way would make a material difference, talk to your boss (or customer or client). Why do we do it this way? What would be the payoff and the risk? Can we experiment with an alternative?
If the result of this dialogue is permission to proceed, that’s great. If not, you might consider whether you’ve picked the right battle or presented your case effectively. You could also consider whether you have the courage to change course anyway and deal with the consequences later.
Reflect. Finally, no matter what you’ve done, take some time to reflect on the experience. Remember the sensations and triggers that prompted you to push back. How did it feel? Then, think about how you proceeded. What can you learn from the situation? How might you handle it differently in the future?
When trusting your instincts, often you’ll make the right choice, and at other times you won’t. But if you keep at it, you’ll learn to more accurately read your internal compass and come up with effective means to act on it.
*Ron Ashkenas is a managing partner of Schaffer Consulting and a co-author of "The GE Work-Out" and "The Boundaryless Organisation." Holly Newman is a consultant at Schaffer Consulting.
© 2012 Harvard Business School Publishing Corp.
Distributed by The New York Times Syndicate
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