Unless you are at the very top of the food chain, you have to manage a certain amount up, where you try to influence the decisions of the people above you in the org card. This relationship can be particularly uncomfortable when you have to solve a mistake or a wrong impression of your supervisor or someone else with a higher role.
Of course, the degree of finesse needed to correct your boss (or someone else in a higher rank) depends on the individual and the corporate culture. In an ideal environment, everyone in an organization is open to feedback and correction. I make sure that I tell everyone in my team that I want to hear and corrections as quickly as possible, because that is the only way I can work effectively.
If you are not sure how well your feedback can be taken, there are a few things you can do.
Ask when in doubt
First of all, assume that everyone in a more senior role will be spiky about being corrected. There are various factors that can influence the willingness of people to accept corrections from others. When someone has a growth mindset, they often accept critical feedback willingly when he sees criticism as the undermining of their own talent. In addition, the rigid hierarchical the organization, the harder it is for people who are lower in the food chain to criticize the higher higher.
That said, there are large individual differences on this dimension, so when you work with a new leader for the first time, it is useful to just ask how they want information. You do not have to ask specifically about correcting them, but discuss how you can provide them with information about what you see from your viewpoint in the organization, you can often give insight into the question of whether they think that information should flow from top to bottom or whether there are opportunities to give feedback from below.
Be discreet
Even when someone is very receptive to feedback, they may not want to be corrected for a group – especially if that group also includes other influential members of the organization. Find a time to catch the person on a one-on-one discussion instead of correcting them for others.
Ideally, you must frame your correction in terms of information that you are not sure if the person has access. It can be uncomfortable to frame your discussion as if you are teaching or coaching the person you approach, unless you are sure that they are open to it. In essence, you create a way for them to save face and at the same time provide more accurate information than before.
Create contradictions
Correcting someone is really a subtype to try to change someone about something. In general you do not really change your mind, you provide them with information that helps them change their own thoughts.
The most powerful method to let people change their beliefs is to create a contrast for them. That is, to help them acknowledge that their current beliefs lead to incompatible conclusions. This not only ensures that people think deeper about how they can solve that contradiction, but there are various psychological mechanisms (often called cognitive dissonance) that work in the background to shift the power of people’s beliefs in ways that resolve those contradictions.
If you often point to a contradiction, you really make a correction in a more indirect way. You can even ask for help solving that contradiction for yourself. This method to make a correction can also be less confronting than just coming out and telling someone that they were wrong.
Call some help in
If there is someone in a higher rank in the organization that is particularly resistant to corrections, then you may want to find an ally to help you. If you have a good relationship with someone who is a peer to the person who needs feedback, have a conversation with them and see if they can help you discuss the problem. They may be able to give you guidance about the best way to approach the conversation.
In general you are probably afraid of confrontation than you should. Although you should not try to be antagonistic towards others, serious feedback and correction are often appreciated instead of hating. At the moment it can be uncomfortable to say something, but often the fear of preparing for the conversation is worse than the conversation itself.
#subtle #art #correcting #boss