Be contrarian

Your team won't learn if you won't challenge them, and their work will suffer.

Don’t be afraid of a little conflict with your team. Part of your role is to challenge them, to make them think twice, to justify their ideas. Not only to validate that they’ve done their due diligence, but also to push them to search for even better options.

This week practice playing devil’s advocate (or devil’s avocado, as a colleague of mine once memorably referred to it). Be ready to challenge a position, or take an opposing line, even if you think your team member is right. Exploring different ideas or perspectives may reveal better options or new ideas.

Keep an eye out too for signs of unvoiced disagreement. Is Team Member A in a conflict with Team Member B? Do they disagree with a course of action? Look out for half-hearted agreement or faint praise. Challenge Team Member A to speak up: have they talked to their colleague? If not, why not?

If they’ve talked but not moved forward, see if you can mediate. Be careful about picking sides: you’ll have a more fruitful outcome if you can help them solve the problem without your intervention, and you’ll avoid putting someone’s nose out of joint too.