"The best leaders encourage dissent."

June 20, 2018

Bill Taylor

Founding Editor, Fast Company and Co-Author, Mavericks at Work

Customers love it when you make them look smart to their boss (everyone has one, you know.)  Here’s something from the Harvard Business Review that you can cut/paste/send to your buyers who are looking for a leadership or change message from their speaker.
 
The best leaders tolerate dissent. Historian Doris Kearns Goodwin famously wrote about President Abraham Lincoln’s leadership style in her acclaimed bestselling book A Team of Rivals. 
 
In his three bestselling books, Fast Company co-founder BILL TAYLOR has celebrated leaders from business who credit their tolerance for dissent as a factor in their success. How do you create a culture that harnesses dissent rather than stifles it? That’s the topic of a timeless and popular HBR column that Bill wrote on the topic: True Leaders Believe Dissent is an Obligation. It’s worth sharing with your buyers who are looking for a leadership or change message right now.
 
Without dissent, leaders are insulated and prone to being victim of their blind spots.  In a complex world, how can you harness dissent and create a culture of trust where subordinates will tell you the truth?
 
Bill Taylor has been helping leaders in business grapple with the outsize challenges they face as disruption seeps into every aspect of their business – getting great reviews like this:

“Bill Taylor did a fantastic job. He inspired us and made us think.”
-Panera Bread