The fact that you disagree with your boss does not mean you have to lose your job or get into trouble. Disagreeing with your boss can be a tricky thing to pull off regardless of whether it is done privately or openly. First, there is the fear of coming across as disrespectful but clearly, when you don’t, the boss’ ego or understanding of the incident or disagreement might come off as a threat to having a good relationship with your boss.
There are professional ways to disagree with your boss and then, there are horrible ways to go about it. Handling a disagreement with your boss the right way will ensure your career and job at the organisation is not threatened. Here are some of the right ways to disagree with your boss.
You have to choose where you choose to disagree with your boss wisely. You also need to be strategic in how you go about it. Most times, openly disagreeing with your boss might not be the best path to tow. When you openly disagree with your boss, it can spell doom. What is even worse is that your boss and colleagues might totally misunderstand your good intentions. This is because, sometimes, openly disagreeing with your boss might put them in tough positions that question their competence; especially when they are wrong.
While what you say is important, the place where it occurs, the occasion and how you communicate it are all equally important.
We all have reasons why we choose a certain thing over the other. It is your responsibility to seek to understand your boss’ perspective. This might help you figure out a better way to not just disagree with them but to provide a better solution that would be of greater benefit to him/her.
Learn to communicate your ideas as an add-on, which improves their idea; not as a total change to how or what your boss came up with. This usually makes it easier for them to accept your ideas. This also ensures that the results or goals to be reached will be far more beneficial to them and the organisation and not something that personally benefits you.
Rather than go for a confrontation when disagreeing with your boss, ask questions to find out why they have chosen certain options over others. Only make suggestions rather than confronting him/her head-on. It is even worse if you go as far as discarding their ideas. Rather, cultivate the habit of refining their ideas.
When you disagree with your boss, be ready to lose or not have your way even if it appears to be the right and correct thing to do. Life is full of lessons and along the way, when he/she learns a particular strategy isn’t working, he/she would be more open to trying out new ideas. If things eventually work out, such a boss would grow to trust and respect your decision-making capabilities even more.
If you choose the wrong ways to disagree with your boss, it could end up being a costly career mistake. It can even cost you your job or set you up for a poor recommendation for promotion within the organisation. While it’s important to have your employer’s best interest at heart; especially when the employer is the same boss you are disagreeing with, you should be wise with how you go about it.