On Objecting At Work

You’re smart, you’re talented, you know what you’re doing, and you don’t agree with Bob’s decision.
Or, maybe, there is an ongoing discussion, and you don’t agree with Alice’s position.
Do you stay quiet? Do you object or argue? If so, how forcefully?

The thing is, when you’re on a team, you don’t operate in a vacuum (yes, evenif you’re a #CowboyDeveloper). Yeah, “black and white” situations do exist, but most of the time you’re operating in a morass of gray. And within this morass

• 1. You might not have all the facts. There might be business pressures to go in a particular direction, sales opportunities, and a whole bunch more. Yes, you should, ideally, be privy to all the information necessary to make an informed decision, but sometimes (most of the time?) that is simply not efficient. it’s easier to delegate responsibility to the tech lead, manager, business lead, whatever.
• 2. This might be necessary for consensus. Yes, this may not be the wisest decision, but going this route gets buy-in from the platform team, and that means one less battle to fight come budget time (and you’d probably not be surprised that so much of what happens in companies boils down to generating consensus across various Involveds)
• 3. There might be an opportunity for others to learn. People learn best from mistakes. If making the wrong choice here isn’t catastrophic (and/or can be backstopped), then this could be a great opportunity for others to learn! And hey, if it turns out that it wasn’t a bad choice, then you learned!
• 4. It might be above your pay grade. Sometimes perfectly stupid decisions are made for perfectly sound business reasons. Think “Using Ridiculous Technology XXX will help with a potential sale of the company”.

All that said, should you stay quiet?
No.

Mind you, that doesn’t mean you start with “That’s the dumbest idea I’ve ever heard!” — speaking your mind without repercussions is a privilege, one that is granted only when you are in a position of trust (•). People listen more to others who share their values. If you are new to the team, you need to build those bonds with the rest, and get them to a place where you are a trusted — and trustable! — voice.

1. 1. Ratchet up. The more rapport you build, the more your voice will be heard without automatic barriers going up. As your team-mates learn that your viewpoint has value, they’ll listen more.
2. 2. Be empathetic. Understand why the other person has their position. You’d be surprised how often “inferior” decisions are made so as to get consensus, especially in larger organizations!
3. 3. Don’t personalize it. Always keep in mind that the discussion is not about you. Ideally, the rest of the team also operates from this premise, but if not anything else, you need to keep this in mind!

The bottom line here is that your ability to speak up, and be heard, depends on your relationship with the team, your boss, and others. If you have agency (you’re the team lead, or the boss, or whatever), then it is incumbent on youto make sure that everybody on the team feels comfortable in speaking up, and making themselves heard, without punishment or embarrassment!

Change things around, so that being part of the conversation becomes a Right, not a Privilege!

(•) If you are not in a position of Trust, then you have other issues. Either get to a place of trust, or move to a place of trust (if that’s an option, that is)