Struggling with Dissent

It is a new year and we are going to be holding our first board meeting soon. We have several new members on our board and as I think about them I wonder how well they will handle dissent on the board. I think handling dissent in a healthy manner is one of the hardest things for a board member to get used to.

I think dissent is a good thing to have on a board. It makes us think carefully and keeps us from rushing into things just because it was proposed. It offers some protection from what they call "group think." Unfortunately the reaction to dissent is usually unhealthy. When the dissent is first uttered a look of shock will be seen on most of the faces in the room. Then all sorts of bad thoughts begin to percolate in people's brains. The dissenter just doesn't like progress. They're just getting in the way. They don't like the person who made the proposal.

It is also hard for the dissenter. The proponents, in most cases, will be shooting daggers. Even the rest of the members are left shaking their heads. It doesn't feel good and I think dissenters leave such meetings as soon as they are adjourned. The hostility feels thick in the air. There may be a few folks around who will try some superficial chit-chat in an attempt to break the tension but it never works. Any sense of being a team is gone.

My hope is that our new board will be able to create what others have called a culture of healthy dissent. Where we actually expect people to disagree and we don't hold it against them. We need a culture where the dissenters feel free to speak up but won't be upset when there objections are eventually overridden.

Hey, its my dream so I can dream if I want to.