What's in a name.

What’s in a name.  The CEO off-handedly mentions an idea in a meeting and you run with it; to the detriment of the priorities that were set by your manager.  But he’s the CEO…  

You are in a meeting with a couple of VPs who muse that we should kill an initiative, so you don’t deliver your work for phase 2.  They are vice presidents after all…

It happens all the time.  Wherever you are in the organization’s food chain, you are respectful of and deferential to seniority, tenure and title.  The most senior voice carries the most weight and when they speak first or loudest, priorities change and their ‘thinking aloud’ can take on more weight and import.

It is hard to voice concern against leadership.  You may question yourself and your expertise; there is implicit bias toward authority.  And yet when I speak to those senior leaders, they are often the first to point out that they were just thinking and not giving direction.  

All voices are not equal.  Employees can take your title and add import to your words.  The intent is good:  respect for leadership, defer to tenure and authority, but the impact can be detrimental:  misalignment, erroneously turning thoughts into direction.

If you are a leader:

• Be clear with your team.  Let your people know when you are just thinking or challenging initiatives rather than changing course. Empower your employees to push back.  There is richer decision-making when diverse points of view are included and weighed.

• Empower your mid-level management.  Allow your leaders to challenge assumptions.  Remind them that you ponder, but that is not meant to undermine their decision-making or authority.

• Realize that your words are impacted by your title.  When leadership speaks, people listen.  So, if you are sharing in real time, you could be impacting priorities and timelines without being aware of your power.

  
  

If you are an employee:

• Ask.  Are you changing this plan or project or challenging us to consider your suggestion?

• Align with your manager.  Before you make an independent determination to pivot, align with your supervisor or project lead.  Everyone should be in alignment before priorities or timelines change or you may follow the wrong direction.

• Challenge the change.  Do you feel safe questioning a change of direction? Respectfully of course, but if there are data and sound-judgement, if there has been discussion and alignment, use that advance work to discuss the proposed leadership input.  It may be that the leader just wants to ensure that the diligence has been done and to hear the team stand by their choices.  

  
  

So, what’s in a name?  The power to upend sound planning by thinking aloud.  The unintended consequence of a change based on someone’s title when they use their inside voice out loud.