As the poet John Donne quotes “Every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main”; it implies to the entrepreneurial setups as well, where each employee holds a unique status, and evaluates situations distinctively but contributes in building of the same substantial empire.
However, the skill of each employee speaks for itself when it comes to handling disagreements, specifically when the difference of opinion occurs between the employee and the boss. The situation being equally tricky, demands a thorough assessment of your own actions and skills as to how you proceed with it in conveying it to your boss.
Here are the five ways that can be considered in dealing and conveying the discrepancy with your boss.
Analyze the difference thoroughly
Be clear with what you disagree!
It is where the study begins; you go through a detailed analysis of as to why your boss has taken a specific decision. You do the entire research of the matter that has led your boss to this decision, and then you examine your strategy entirely and highlight the benefits of your approach over the one your boss has proposed.
While working in a company, you know you are expected to listen to your boss and at the same time, you are encouraged to be innovative. Since all the employees are addressed as a ‘Team’, the creative feedback is always appreciated. However, the feedback must never emerge from the personal grudges; therefore this step needs a considerable amount of attention and analysis.
Look for a suitable time
After you are done with the self-assessment and thorough investigation of the scenario, you have to now look for the most favorable time to shoot your point forward to your boss.
Now this time has to be advantageous not only for you but for the company as well, i.e. to communicate with your boss when he’s all pleased with you; and to make sure that you don’t delay your achievable advise when it can actually be worked upon.
As Gooler Loeb who is a career and executive coach, states,
“Sometimes people will bring up a dissenting point of view after the fact, when no one can do anything about it, and that’s just not productive”.
Explain respectfully and confidently
Respect and invincible confidence can take you a long way.
You have to be very aware of the fact that you are subordinate to your boss, and he deserves every kind of respect from you no matter it may be likely that he rejects your advice. So the key is to make him aware of the fact that you respect and acknowledge his decision on the particular matter, however, this is where your confidence counts; you have carved out another way of approaching the problem. When you propose your opinion you have to be confident about what you are suggesting, which will need evidence. You must not want to be doubtful and unsure of the strategy that you will propose, thus confidence and evidence will play side by side here.
Prove with Evidence:
This is where your research will rescue you on your disagreement on the underlying problem. You put forth the evidence or the model/ flowchart that you have created for the solution. You lay out the entire plan and highlight all the signals that you believe will go in the direction of success of your proposed solution.
Moreover, at this stage you can also incorporate several similar instances occurred before, if any. Thus they can aid you in proving as to how your proposed strategy has a higher chance of accomplishing than the one proposed by the boss.
Respect the final decision:
Finally, having given your maximum towards your opinion, now is the time for you to wait for the final decision. You must not keep your expectations too high. However, it is necessary for you to respect whatever decision is taken, because no matter what, the final verdict will still hold some mass to it that you might not be aware of yet.
So, the aforementioned strategy can help you in multiple ways, if employed properly. Not only will it assist you in handling a disagreement with your boss but it will polish your research skills, boost your confidence and will teach you patience as well.