Frequently during the leadership development programmes I run, the conversation turns to challenging senior managers, or holding them to account. What surfaces often is the lack of willingness and confidence to approach senior leaders, around their actions, words and thinking. Middling leaders and others have a distinct fear and uncertainty regarding approaching and being prepared to challenge, even when a senior manager is in the wrong. Therefore, not holding them to account. This situation is more common than people think.
The ability for managers and leaders (at all levels) to challenge (at all levels) is a necessary skill. As a middle to senior manager in the organisation, you are paid in part, to challenge, call out, explore direction, decisions and behaviours of all those around you. To hold to account around values displayed, approaches to people, behaviours and inappropriate leadership. In your role you are the business and others expect you to represent them and do what is right.
Yet many (majority?) are unwilling to put their heads above the parapets and make a stance. Do what is right. This might be out of fear, uncertainty, or, not knowing how to go about it. Part of this might be to do with the common perception that it is always the whistleblower on something that comes off worse, rather than the offender(s). Or they don’t feel they will have the support of the organisation. The phrase ‘career limiting’ springs to mind. There is always fear of a back lash, in the moment or longer term.
However, challenging senior managers doesn’t have to be ‘career limiting’, it can be a cathartic and rewarding experience for all parties. Once undertaken it can create a renewed sense of ability and leadership confidence.
Before challenging leaders and challenging leadership…
Like many situations, preparation and planning is your ally. It is about setting yourself up for leadership success. This doesn’t have to be just prior to having a conversation.
Genuinely exploring with your senior managers how to appropriately have robust challenging conversations with them, when the need arises, should be a straight forward start. A discussion around this so you both know where you stand. What does and doesn’t work for them. Exploring the dynamics of your mutual relationship for the greater organisational good. It is a future orientated information gathering exercise. They actually might find it quite refreshing that someone is prepared to understand that side of them. Setting you both up for future success.
Selling it as a win:win for the working relationship. Recognising that you both won’t always agree on things and that is ok. But it is important that you both approach robust conversations looking to understand the others perspective, rather than push an agenda.
We have to believe that senior managers can recognise the need to be challenged both for the greater good, but also for their own personal growth.
Approaching challenge conversations
There are some key areas to think and plan for, before any conversations take place:
- Pick your moment. Start with an area or issue that is relatively small, where the risks are lower for all parties. It also tests the water for future conversations.
- Understand fully what your actual challenge/issue is with the leader. What are the elements to it? What is the truth in it and what are perceptions? Where are there perhaps overlaps in both of your thinking, or not.
- Understand your motivations for wanting to challenge. To prove a point? Prove you are right? Or, to reduce risk, remove problems or maximise opportunities? Having the wrong motivations will be evidenced in your language and words.
- Be clear on your actual goal and outcomes.
- Recognising that it’s not about backing them into a corner, it’s about helping a different world view, newer thinking on something emerge from them.
- Not going ‘half-cocked’ into a conversation – what is the business case, strategic perspective, facts, alignment to strategic goals or outcomes that you need to understand and position?
- Maximise your expertise to bring insight and reduce your use of power to bring insight. Their structural position will trump your asserted or assumed power.
- Develop questions that will increase their awareness, get them thinking differently, see alternate perspectives, or, understand the consequences of their decisions. Someone is less likely to get defensive if they come to clarity by their own hand.
During the conversation
Any challenge comes with risks – but there are also opportunities if approached correctly. Risks can be mitigated by preparation.
- It’s not about being assertive or passive, but balancing assertiveness to bring appropriate challenge through thoughtful questions, insight and evidence
- Lead with curiosity. This puts you in a questioning stance rather than a telling stance. From the outset you are gathering information and raising their self-awareness
- Question to understand their perspectives, thinking and reasoning, then new perspectives will arise. Embrace their perspective, and add others, encouraging a ‘helicopter perspective’ on the situation. People will rarely zoom out from their chosen position, so you have to help them.
- Utilise a systemic perspective and questioning style. Looking at a situation from a raft of positions removes blinkered narrative and makes an entrenched position more untenable. Encouraging a systemic view will add a value they may not have considered.
- Challenge ideas and thinking not personalities/the person
- Use your expertise, insight, data and evidence to enable discovery on their part
- Use questions to help them identify why something may not work, or its not a correct decision, rather than pushing in a telling manner
- The conversation is not a ‘finger pointing’ exercise, or assigning blame. It’s about both parties being able to find and do the ‘right thing’
- A reinforced or evidenced opinion is ok to share, but don’t base your whole position on an opinion
After the conversation
The conversation may well go your way, or it might not. There are no guarantees. However, you have laid the foundations to be able to healthily challenge in the future. You will have also left an impression on the senior leader around your own character and skills. Leave the conversation:
- With grace and acknowledgment of them taking the time to explore the situation.
- Recognising the importance of understanding different perspectives
- Referencing the fact you might have enjoyed having robust conversation with them, and that it was a learning opportunity for both parties
- Asking them how they found the conversation and how you approached it
Test of your leadership as well
Having challenging conversations with senior leaders is also a test of your own leadership, integrity and abilities. As such should not be underestimated as a development opportunity. It is where your leadership metal really is tested and honed. Whilst the challenge around challenging senior leaders is not to be underestimated, the transformation that can occur for both parties will be powerful.
Nick Howell is a Coach, Facilitator and Author of ‘Great Coaching Questions‘. Working with leaders, teams and individuals to bring change and growth. Using coaching, workshops, 121 development opportunities and programmes to bring personal transformation in the work place.