The Hindu Business Line : Foster dissent!

As a natural corollary, he tends to surround himself with those who make him feel infallible, who roll in laughter at his jokes and who egg him on to persist in the course he decides to take, even if its adverse impact is apparent.

The boss feels so conditioned to their soothing and anaesthetising presence that he irritatedly shuns those expressing views contrary to his own. Often, these dissenters find themselves without access to him, and even shunted off to inconsequential slots.

This type of boss needs to be saved both from himself and the yes-men pampering him, as otherwise he is likely to drag the organisation itself to disaster.

The most salutary advice that can be given to him is this quote from the Business Week: "The best insurance against crossing the ethical divide is a roomful of sceptics... By advocating dissent, top executives can create a climate where wrongdoing will not go unchallenged."

However, this is easier said than done. Having sceptics around is no picnic. Actually, they hurt like a thorn in the flesh. That is why, they are also called gadflies. In the eyes of the boss, the dissenter is a personification of disruption coming in his way when he wants to press ahead with his brainwave, and having the effect of dampening the enthusiasm of those raring to go and causing delay in implementation as well.

Nevertheless, stifling dissent does not necessarily speed up matters. The investment of time in allowing open expression of dissent, meeting it with convincing arguments and bringing the sceptics round to one's point of view is well worth it since the decision will then command whole-hearted support of the team as such, instead of being sabotaged behind the boss' back.

Dissenters should be taken as doing a service in that they help lay a strong foundation to right decision-making and foster a culture of consensus-building by bringing to light objections to a suggested course of action which yes-men may be chary of doing.

At the same time, a perceptive leader should be able to distinguish between genuine dissent, arising from loyalty and commitment, and obstructionist tactics, rooted in cussedness and cantankerousness.

B. S. Raghavan

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