There is something wrong if we are all getting along

After a long day of work and lot of nah saying/naggy calls - I realized (very well) that if we ( you and your teams) are getting along very well- then there are some serious checks you need to do. You might think what the heck? Read on..

Dissent is not necessarily a very comfortable factor to ride with. However if things are going forward with too much of consensus and not enough dissent then probably we are not pushing the tower from both sides well ( there by a leaning tower in progress). When the tough questions are not asked, some pots are not stirred- are we really trying to think through?- now don't get me wrong I am not saying you should fight with your direct team and extended team,agree to disagree and be extremely objective on what needs to be achieved. Do you as a leader foster a culture of dissent? You want enough people who can push back for the right reasons and question every little thing with out making assumptions, it does not hurt to ask a question- I ask way too many stupid questions and I don't fear asking them in any forum. If things get agreed right away - it tells me one thing very clearly - we as a team are failing to plan and thus planning to fail in near future. Now there will be those one offs that will fly by the first time around, they are exceptions rather than the norm. In a world of growing complexity, rational argument is more important than mere ranks and titles. Encouraging a culture of dissent where people are thoroughly encouraged to voice their opinion is a great thing. As my teams and I go through the maze, we get a sense of something missing or being wrong if we are getting along and making the same choices, it either tells me we are not spreading our spectrum of thought and there by covering all aspects or we are unlearning the culture of dissent.

Did you start fostering a culture of dissent yet?