How to challenge your boss respectfully as a manager?

That information that you have might not make it to the top. And then poor decisions might be made and really terrible outcomes can come from that. And that would be all because you decided not to speak. welcome to my site where we believe that the transformation from manager to leader is such a crucial one and that's because,well, true leaders change lives.

SO have you ever been in a situation where your boss comes up with some sort of idea or some sort of process, and they're super excited about it and you're sitting there thinking, ooh, I don't know if that's going to work. And you find yourself thinking this, but you're like, you don't necessarily want to say anything because you don't want to get anybody upset.

You don't want it to come out the wrong way. And you might be also fearful of retribution just depending on your boss. Well, if you've been in this situation before, which I'm pretty sure most of us have been in that situation, then this is the  for you because I'm going to be sharing a couple of quick tips that will really help you to navigate such a conversation and make sure that you say what you have to say in a really respectful manner. Now, before I get into the tips, I just want to remind you to hit on the subscribe button so that you don't miss out on any insights that I share here only on Tuesday. Okay, so let's get into it. 

TEAM MANAGEMENT:

So, first of all, I would say that one of the toughest positions to be in, like for sure, is in middle management. Because not only do you have to learn how to manage your team or how to lead your team, but you also have to learn to manage up if you want to be effective at all in your role. And unfortunately, one of those aspects of managing up is actually learning how to voice your opinion when you find yourself in opposition to the viewpoint that your boss has on something. You know, so you're going to find yourself having to advocate a lot for your team and for their workload for yourself or your work load and maybe even timelines. Um, and so that's why it's really important for us to think about, or to have this discussion today so that you know how to do this practically speaking.

Okay so the first thing I'll say on this matter is that you actually have to switch your mindset, you know,and talking to other managers, I realize that there is a lot of fear around speaking up, especially when you don't necessarily agree with your boss. And, you know, I remember being in that situation too, there is a lot of anxiety that goes on inside as to whether or not you should speak up or not, because you're not necessarily sure how it's going to be received.

And, you know, depending on what's important to you, that could be a really big deal. So for example, if what's important to you is a consistent pay check and you feel as though that pay check is going tobe taken away from you, if you speak up and voice your opinion, then you're most likely not going to say anything. Or if what's important to you is to have the respect of those around you, especially, or particularly your boss.

Then again, that fear is going to be amplified and you're not going to necessarily want to say anything. But what I want to tell you right now in terms of your mindset is that you have to think at a completely different level. And remember that you were chosen for this role for a reason. You know, they entrusted you with this, you know, this role because they expect you to do it to your best, to the best of your ability.Think about it this way. If you stay quiet on a matter, like if you see there's a hole in something, or, you know, if you have a completely different view on something and you don't speak up, then that information that you have might not make it to the top.

And then poor decisions might be made and really terrible outcomes can come from that. And that would be all because you decided not to speak up. So I think it's actually better for you to view it from that lens. That you simply just have a difference of opinion and that difference of opinion can make a world of a difference if you voice it, that you're just trying to get your message across, instead of thinking about what could happen if you actually said something.

So number two, once, you know,you've developed that mindset, that you're basically just the vessel for the message is that you have to present it with tact. Now, tact according to the dictionary and I'm actually just going to read this straight from my phone cus I don't want to mess it up and it's really good. 

So according to the dictionary tact means having a keen sense of what to do or what to say in a difficult or delicate situation in order to maintain good relations with others and to avoid offence. This is essentially exactly what you're trying to do, right? You're trying to say what you got to say without causing any sort of offenceor, or any sort of issues. And so tact really is twofold. And the first part of that is I would say, choosing your words carefully, you know, just blurting out what you have to say for the sake of saying it is not really going to do anybody good. You have to first really think about what it is you want to say, and then choose your words carefully because your words, actually matter. The second part of tact is all about the way it's being said. So how you say what you say.

There's this really well known Bible verse that says that we should be seasoning our words with salt. And that's because we know that salt usually enhances the flavor of food. That's making it appealing to the person that we're serving it to. The same goes with your words, right? How you say it matters just as much as what you say, especially if you want it to be well received.

So you do have to consider like how you're saying it and what the tone is of what you're actually saying. Number four is to consider your timing. Now, depending on the relationship, you know, that you have with your boss and the culture of your team, and, you know, it might not always be advantageous for you to voice your opinion. Now, the reason why I say that, it depends on your relationship is because there are some teams that operate in a space of conflict. And what I mean by that is that they have like a very trusting environment and the leader of that team encourages those team members to push back on ideas, you know, within team meeting sand whatnot. 

And so if you're in that situation, then it's more of a matter of you finding the courage to find your voice and speak up. But if you're in a situation where your culture on the team doesn't really lend to that, then you have to really choose your timing. Like not, it's not always the right time to say something. 

EXAMPLE:

Going back to the example of, you know, seasoning your words with salt and food and how that works, you know, just because you have a well flavored meal, it doesn't mean that it's always the most optimal time to present that meal to somebody, right? Like if someone just had a really big meal or if they're sick, it doesn't matter how well seasoned your food is. It's just not the right time to be giving it to them. So it's the same thing in this situation, right? You want to make sure that you are saying what you have to say at the time that makes the most sense. 

Tip number five is to come with your solutions. You know, there are some people that can completely skip a problem and get right to the solution. And then there's others who are just like really keen on finding the problem. Like their eyes can, can see it really easily. You know, I don't think that's a good or bad thing really. I mean, that's just a matter of your style and how, how you do things. But I will say that it's really important that you get into the habit of coming to your boss or approaching your boss, approaching your boss I should say with solutions rather than problems.

Like you should be in that habit in general, but especially when you're ind is agreement with them or when you have some sort of opposing view. So that way when you're approaching them and you're telling them, okay, so this is what I see to be the issue, but here are two different solutions or options that you might want to consider. Then you're just not like going to them for disagreement sake.

You're going to them because you're trying to find some sort of solution or your trying to help them get to a different solution. So that's what I would have to say on that one. So there you have it five quick tips that will help you say what you have to say, get your point across without leaving you feeling icky or, you know, making the situation any worse.

So I hope that you found this to be valuable to you. And if you did find it valuable, then don't forget to hit button so that you don't miss out on more content that I share here. And if you're a new manager, you're looking for more information on leader ship development, team development.And download your new manager starter kit. I promise you it'll make a world of  a difference in the way that you show up in your role. And if a manager that's kind of struggling to figure out like the first couple of steps of your role, and what's the most important to be doing, then I highly suggest you download my team's success guide.  They use so much for watching. I hope you haven't been tested rest of the week. Don't forget to keep smiling and see you in the next one.