Why Great Leaders Don't Take Yes For An Answer: Managing For Conflict And Consensus

Description

Make better decisions! Michael A. Roberto will help you achieve deeper consensus, get past groupthink and "yes men," and achieve superior results in every decision you make -- especially your most complex and highest-stakes decisions! Roberto's Why Great Leaders Don't Take Yes for an Answer, Second Edition gives you a powerful framework for promoting honest, constructive dissent and skepticism; test your assumptions; more thoroughly and fairly considering "best alternatives"; crisply coming to closure; and aligning your entire organization behind the decision you make.   In this new edition, Roberto presents new cases from Google, Ford, and Intuit, and expands coverage to more deeply illuminate his decision-making approach. Offering both positive and negative examples, he presents a well rounded view of how to determine when 'yes' means 'yes', when it doesn't, and what to do when it doesn't. Throughout, Roberto demonstrates why "good process entails the astute management of the social, political and emotional aspects of decision making" -- in other words, why effective leaders are well served by carefully "deciding how to decide." You'll learn how to:  Test and probe what your team really believes, and get the truth and candor you really needEncourage constructive objections -- and keep them constructiveImprove team management, mitigate risk, identify opportunities, and promote integrityBuild stronger commitment amongst the people who'll implement your decisions Cover Praise Title Contents Preface The Research The Outline of This Book Acknowledgments Part I: Leading the Decision Process 1. The Leadership Challenge Decision-Making Myths Myth 1: The Chief Executive Decides Myth 2: Decisions Are Made in the Room Myth 3: Decisions Are Largely Intellectual Exercises Myth 4: Managers Analyze and Then Decide Myth 5: Managers Decide and Then Act Managing Reality The Absence of Dissent Tragedy on Everest The Perils of Conflict and Dissent Why Is This So Difficult? Leadership Style Cognitive Biases Threat Rigidity In-Groups Versus Out-Groups Organizational Defensive Routines A Deeper Explanation 2. Deciding How to Decide Managerial Levers Composition Context Communication Control The Power to Learn The Prepared Mind Part II: Managing Conflict 3. An Absence of Candor Columbia’s Final Mission Hard Versus Soft Barriers Hard Barriers Structural Complexity Role Ambiguity Information-Filtering Mechanisms Composition of Decision-Making Bodies Soft Barriers Status Differences Language System Issue Framing Taken-for-Granted Assumptions Leadership Matters 4. Stimulating the Clash of Ideas Caufield’s Story Pulling All the Right Levers The Leader’s Toolkit Role-Play Methods Mental Simulation Conceptual Models Point-Counterpoint “Watch Out” Situations Domesticating the Dissenters Creating a Hub-and-Spoke System Crowding Out Response Time Encouraging Entrenchment and Polarization Striving for False Precision Practice Makes Perfect 5. Keeping Conflict Constructive Diagnosing the Debate Affective Conflict Curbing Affective Conflict Before the Debate Ground Rules Roles Respect During the Deliberations Reframe Redescribe Revisit After the Decision Reflect Repair Remember Building a Capability Freedom and Control Part III: Building Consensus 6. The Dynamics of Indecision A Culture of Indecision The Culture of No The Culture of Yes The Culture of Maybe Seeking Shortcuts Reasoning by Analogy Rules of Thumb Imitation Failing to Solve the Underlying Problem The Origins of Indecisive Cultures 7. Fair and Legitimate Process Fair Process Defining the Concept Leading Fair Processes Fair Process in Action Legitimate Process What Is Procedural Legitimacy? Destroying Legitimacy Preserving Process Legitimacy The Misalignment Problem Teaching Good Process What About Conflict? 8. Reaching Closure Divergence and Convergence The Psychology of Small Wins Types of Intermediate Agreements Process-Oriented Small Wins Outcome-Oriented Small Wins Shifting into Decision Mode Sustaining Closure The Importance of Trust Part IV: A New Breed of Take-Charge Leader 9. Leading with Restraint What Type of Leaders? The Myth of the Lone Warrior Two Forms of Taking Charge Leading with Restraint Questions, Not Answers Endnotes Chapter 1 Endnotes Chapter 2 Endnotes Chapter 3 Endnotes Chapter 4 Endnotes Chapter 5 Endnotes Chapter 6 Endnotes Chapter 7 Endnotes Chapter 8 Endnotes Chapter 9 Endnotes Index