INTHEBLACK July 2022 - Magazine - Page 55
OPEN VIDEO IN A NEW WINDOW
critical thinking and communication expert based in
Perth, Australia.Explicitly state at the beginning of a
meeting that diverse opinions are welcome and valued,
says Winn. “Say, ‘it’s okay if we disagree – it’s not
personal’,” she suggests.
“Encourage people not to attach their ego to their
ideas, so if someone challenges you on an idea or a
decision, try not to take that personally. It requires a
certain amount of maturity to do that.”
Establishing clear boundaries before a discussion
facilitates open and honest debate and sets the scene
for healthy conflict.
“Sometimes a conversation needs to be uncomfortable,
and people need to challenge each other in order to get
the best outcome,” Winn says.
An organisation with a culture that encourages healthy
conflict is more likely to outperform organisations with
“a culture of comfort,” she says. An organisation will
quickly become “stale if everybody just agrees all the
time”.
A DEVILISH SKILL SET
One way to take the heat out of a debate is to designate
a devil’s advocate – or two – within the team.
In their article, Emmerling and Rooders label these
individuals “strategic dissenters” whose job is to act as a
“counterforce to the group’s consensus” to improve
decision-making.
“For larger groups with seven or more members,
appoint at least two devil’s advocates to be sure that a
sole strategic dissenter isn’t isolated by the rest of the
group as a disruptive troublemaker,” they write. To carry
out this challenging role effectively, a devil’s advocate
needs strong listening skills and a firm sense
of empathy, says Winn. “You need to be aware of where
people are coming from, and if you’re going to throw in
a curve ball, to time it well and read the room.”
A creative mind and flexibility of thought are also
assets.
“To come up with an alternative viewpoint, you need
to be able to step back, look at it from a different
perspective, or put yourself in someone else’s shoes,”
says Winn, who suggests allocating team members
different characters to play to help stimulate debate.
“You deliberately ask people to approach a situation
from a particular angle – I want you to be optimistic.
I want you to be pessimistic. I want you to come up with
an alternative,” she says, referring to Edward De Bono’s
influential book, Six Thinking Hats.
Assuming a persona can enable introverts otherwise
unwilling to offer up conflicting views to contribute to the
team discussion. “It makes it less personal,” says Winn.
A devil’s advocate can help a team operate more
efficiently. When people don’t feel comfortable offering
critical feedback, progress slows, says Ireland.
“People don’t follow things through…because they’re
too frightened or they don’t feel safe to say, ‘I think this
is a bad idea,’” she says.
In an environment where all views are welcome – even
those that go against the status quo – people feel heard
and valued, which creates a sense of shared
accountability, says Ireland. “It gets results faster.”
“YOU NEED TO BE
AWA R E O F W H E R E
PEOPLE ARE
COMING FROM,
AND IF YOU’RE
GOING TO THROW
IN A CURVE BALL,
TO TIME IT WELL
AND READ THE
ROOM. TO COME UP
WITH AN
A LT E R N AT I V E
V I E W P O I N T, Y O U
NEED TO BE ABLE
TO STEP BACK,
L O O K AT I T F R O M A
DIFFERENT
PERSPECTIVE, OR
PUT YOURSELF IN
SOMEONE ELSE’S
S H O E S .”
BETHAN WINN, CRITICAL
THINKING EXPERT
intheblack.cpaaustralia.com.au July 2022 55