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"How to Disagree with Your Boss"
"When I disagree with a rational man, I let reality be our final arbiter; if I am right, he will learn; if I am wrong, I will; one of us will win, but both will profit."
Ayn Rand
Larry has been the manager of a retail store for ten years and has five employees reporting to him. His peers, employees and customers love working with him because he has a passion for helping them succeed. He will often go above and beyond to solve customer or employee complaints because he knows that is how he would want to be treated. Recently, Larry got a new boss, Helen, who was hired to shake up the business and grow sales at a faster pace. While Larry's store had steady growth, Helen had a idea that she was certain would improve Larry's sales numbers faster. She asked Larry and his staff to make ten phone calls per day to current customers asking that them to come visit the store again.
Larry was opposed to this idea because he hated having telemarketers called into his home and he did not want to annoy his customers in this same way or possibly lose staff by making these phone calls. Larry became frustrated and angry at the thought of carrying out this idea in his market.
We have all been in a situation when someone at a higher authority level asks us to do something we do not want to do. So, what should Larry do? Here are a few suggestions I would make to Larry for increased effectiveness in this situation:
- Fact finding- Larry needs to gather the facts about his store regarding past efforts to increase sales. If past direct mail strategies have worked, he may propose doing this again and possibly supplementing the mail campaign with phone calls to give a reason for the calls.
- Ask for help. He should ask Helen for success stories with other locations and if there are none, share with Helen his fear of losing customers and staff by having to do something he personally disdains. If Helen is adamant that he tries the strategy, he needs to ask for additional training so he and his staff are successful.
- Reevaluate. If what Helen is asking Larry to do violates his core values, then Larry will need to make the phone calls while looking for another job or decide to quit immediately.
- Reflect. Larry should ask himself what the worst outcome and best outcome may be from this new strategy. He may want to give himself ninety days to try the idea and see what happens. Maybe the fear of trying something new is the issue. He could look at this new strategy as a way to gain a skill set that would make him more marketable if he decides to leave.
The one thing that Larry must not do is gather his staff together and tell them that his new boss is a jerk and the calls are a waste of time. Why is this a career killer? Because this brings the morale of his staff down by showing disrespect for Helen and the message may get back to her that he is sabotaging her plan. What he should do is let the staff know that he is nervous about trying something new but with the proper training and practice he knows everyone will succeed. If Larry supports the strategy with his best effort, and it fails, Helen will see Larry as a team player and listen more closely to his thoughts the next time she presents a new idea.
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