Discussions, deliberations, brainstorming sessions are a wonderful opportunity to understand others perspectives. However, at times leaders don’t realise that they are making these sessions redundant with the way they conduct them. The invitees have come prepared with their inputs however the leader puts his thoughts on the table and starts countering every suggestion as if to defend his point of view. If this is what is to be done, then why should a discussion be called at all, rather it will be beneficial to inform everyone of the decision and save everyone’s time. This is advised because it creates dissonance. A free-flowing discussion that everyone was expecting has become a monologue. Next time people will not come prepared with inputs and this will really hurt when the leader really wants input because the thinking minds have been shut off.
What is the damage that this kind of behaviour does to the culture of the organisation is unimaginable? If the leader, does it then it starts getting replicated down the line which means that no one in the organisation is heard. It moves organisation from a Logic driven to an Authority driven organisation. This may not be the worst thing to happen but in today’s environment where innovation is the key to survive and thrive this may expose organisation to becoming obsolete. Remember its always better to have a full view of things rather than just your view of things.
