Speaking out

First Line Managers / 01 July 2010

When you take on a new job, speaking your mind can produce results, but it’s not always wise. Make sure you’re on top of the facts before challenging senior colleagues, says Laura Johnson

At the front of a packed conference room, your chief executive has just concluded his presentation. Some of his points were controversial and the audience is eager to discuss their thoughts over a tea break. But before anyone can leave the room a hand rises and everyone turns, slightly astonished, to see a colleague fire an aggressive question directly at the chief executive.

The room goes quiet as the usually composed leader responds awkwardly to this open challenge by a subordinate in full view of his team. Has the brave questioner demonstrated his assertiveness or just labelled himself as a troublemaker and forever tarnished his promotion prospects?

Some concrete and robust figures are probably the best way to present an argument in order to influence a change of decision. Where are you potentially saving costs? Where are you demonstrating a huge difference to the bottom line? It’s about being one step ahead, anticipating what is going to come back at you

Kirsten Sholl, senior management consultant, Right Management

As organisational structures and cultures have evolved, obedience has been devalued. Recent leadership scandals in the political and financial arenas have cast a glaring spotlight on senior leaders. This is causing the previously comfortable elite to flee this searching examination of their power, making the boardroom more of a level playing field.

“Military models and strict hierarchies of obedience have been supplanted by much more network-like, team-based forms of working,” says professor Yiannis Gabriel, deputy dean of the School of Management at University of Bath. “There the direction of authority is not so one-sided, and the tendency to lionise the leader as someone who is a superhero has ebbed away.

“The leader is now regarded as a much more ambiguous figure, who doesn’t always have all the answers: someone who can’t always be relied on to generate the results alone. What is becoming much clearer is that leadership is a relationship rather than one-way traffic.”

But influencing opinions, challenging decisions and saying no to senior colleagues remain unavoidable aspects of a management role. While the lines of communication have opened up, challenging your boss’ opinions remains a delicate operation.

Build a case

So before you barge in and lay your cards too firmly on the table or shy away from a difficult debate, Kirsten Sholl, senior management consultant at Right Management, suggests you take time to prepare. “Being able to build a business case highlighting the key benefits of what you’re trying to put forward is pivotal,” says Sholl.

“Some concrete and robust figures are probably the best way to present an argument in order to influence a change of decision. Where are you potentially saving costs? Where are you demonstrating a huge difference to the bottom line? It’s about being one step ahead, anticipating what is going to come back at you.”

However, it’s not just the content of what you say that counts. Style has a large role to play in successfully influencing more senior colleagues. “I was working with a chief executive who was a very good people manager but he had some very strong personalities in his team,” says Sholl. “What was interesting was one manager would challenge him on a regular basis and sometimes be quite confrontational. It was acceptable because it was supported by a very robust argument. The element of conflict was actually quite healthy.”

Another direct report to the same chief executive provoked a very different response when she put forward a case. “The way she handled the knock-backs was that she would become extremely defensive,” says Sholl. “I worked with this individual to get her to understand she needed to be just as passionate as always but perhaps she needed to change some of her behaviours. She needed to be more aware of what her boss wanted to see and hear.” 

Linda Bellis, head of human resources at the law firm Wragge & Co, agrees that a heightened awareness of your behaviour and your work environment – some may say the application of emotional intelligence – is the secret to getting your voice heard at senior levels.
This means taking time to get under the skin of the personality you are trying to convince, understanding what motivates them and what irritates them, accepting how they like to work and showing respect for their seniority.

Tailor your approach

“The most successful people at senior levels are those who know that if they’re dealing with quite a formal manager, they need to approach the meeting in a formal way, do lots of preparation and act in an appropriate manner,” explains Bellis.

“If it’s someone who enjoys a joke and is more laid back you need to try to operate in that way. Trying to get people to like you and enjoy working with you is a real trick to then trying to influence them.”

Preparation and careful communication constitute the groundwork for successfully bringing a senior colleague round to your way of thinking. But it won’t be enough to convert them from day one. It takes time to build a relationship of trust and credibility with a superior and sometimes your point of view is just not going to be accepted. Successfully challenging and influencing senior colleagues takes resilience.

“Be prepared to take no as an answer without getting upset,” advises Bellis. “One thing to remember is that sometimes you have to be prepared to have a bit of a fight. But not everything is worth fighting for, so pick your battles. If every time you challenge someone it’s full on, then people are going to avoid you.”