Disagree and commit

In team scenarios, not everyone will agree with you. And that’s OK. You’ve created a team culture where to question decisions and tactics is the right thing to do to create a healthy working environment.

Disagree and commit helps us to continue moving forward knowing that, although you disagree, you know enough people want to commit to that and you’re aligned with them.

The opposite is later down the line if the directive fails, you say ‘I told you so’. That’s not helpful or healthy for any team.

With disagree and commit, you’ve justified your reasoning, the majority overruled you, and you’ve moved on. If the decision turns out to be the wrong one, you adjust and see what you can do to fix it.

If it was the right decision, you have the bonus of being able to reflect – why did you disagree originally? Were you working from first principles? Was there an internal bias built in that was preventing you from seeing the data?

Disagree and commit will save a lot of unnecessary hours in meetings trying to strong arm your way to people agreeing with you.

Try committing to the process, reflect, and adjust if it turns out to be wrong.