Greetings!

This is Strategy 5  of the Eleven HR iniatives for 2011- Resolve to be an effective consigliere (HR magazine, 1/2011;RGrossman)

Telling it like it is is very important, but how do you do this when the boss is who you are trying to reach?  How do you tell someone that is your superior that they are "wrong" in an effective manner?  It is everyone's responsibility to ensure they are telling the truth but we all know there are times when this is very difficult! "It takes courage to artfully, shrewdly, tell the boss when he's wrong" says Michael Feiner, a professor of management at Columbia University's Graduate School of Business.

Some bosses are very autocratic, they express things in a manner that makes it sound like "my way or the highway" yet many of us have experienced when they are wrong.  How do we get them to listen without being offended or jeopardize your working relationship?

 Knowledge is power.  Approach difficult discussions ready to offer facts or even laws to express your point.  Never approach a situation that would sound like you are telling people they are wrong but rather use an approach that offers "another view" based on those facts.

Being very knowledgeable about your business will result in having the respect to say what you  need to say. Saying what you have to diplomatically will provide you with many opportunities to be "heard".

Difficult conversations need to be held in order to move ahead.  Building relationships will make this easier. I always stress the importance of relationships...believe me they do more than many realize.  Saying difficult things will be tremendously easier if you already have a strong relationship.  We all know that. 

Regarless, do not hold back saying something that has to be said.  It is not so much WHAT you say but HOW you say it!