One of the most detrimental qualities an office can have is the employees find themselves unable to disagree with their boss. Now, it’s understandable that disagreements of any kind may seem intimidating, especially when regarding any superior, never mind the boss themselves. The power imbalance might make employees fearful of retribution, but if the managers and their employees can agree on a courteous, efficient system the office will be a more productive place and overall morale will benefit.
If successfully implemented into the company culture, you will gain the following:
Fewer Mistakes
Of course, there is such a thing as too many cooks in the kitchen, but in general, employee input from multiple sources raises important questions. These are all employees who care about the outcome of the company, and when an employee catches a mistake or error, or simply would appreciation elaboration on the plan currently in action, this ensures that the best possible work is being done. If employees are too afraid to speak up and voice a disagreement, these mistakes will likely go unnoticed and the quality of the service or product will easily suffer.
More than that, the employees will feel that their opinion means something, and that speaking up will not be in vain.
Employees Who Feel Valued
One of the most valuable things a manager can do is take time to make their employees feel like they matter, like they have a say in what happens, that they, too, are capable of making intelligent decisions for the good of the company. This establishes a strong trust between employee and employer, and a solid relationship in that regard is an invaluable tool that creates motivated workers. Motivated, enthusiastic workers will work harder and remain devoted to the cause, and nothing kills morale faster than a bad relationship between bosses and employees. It will create an “us versus them” mentality, but employees who feel valued are less likely to succumb to that line of thinking.
More Capable Managers
In short, by training employees to disagree with their bosses, a company can weed out managers who have trouble receiving any kind of criticism or advice. These inflexible individuals are extremely damaging because of their inability to accept that they might not always be right, or that someone may know more than them. Releasing these managers from the company will provide spots for a more collaborative leadership team and will ultimately serve the company in a better capacity.