I’m not much of a glass-breaker, usually. My natural tendency is to build consensus, get buy-in. And I’ve kind of had it with this approach.
I’m not planning to throw the baby out with the bathwater, but I’m realizing that sometimes I need to get the heck out of my own way.
Before you say to someone, “I thought you might want to know that I’m planning to…” make sure you know why you’re saying it. Do you need input and approval, or are you really just saying “I’m telling you this because this way you have a chance to say ‘no,’ and if you don’t, it means that you’ve OKed what I’m about to do.”
Nice to have the approval but what happens when:
- Folks say no; or
- They weigh in with a different opinion, and you need to do something with their advice?
One way to tell why you’re asking: if someone were to say, “no way,” would you do it anyway? If so, then what are you gaining by asking?
Go ahead, break something.
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