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Promote Constructive Insubordination

September 30, 2008

From Kouzes, J.M., & Posner, B.Z., (2006). A leader's legacy. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Leaders have to be able to promote, demonstrate, and support constructive insubordination. It's been said that 'if both of us are always in agreement, then one of us is redundant,' and this is no more true today. When everyone agrees, especially for the sake of getting along, we're unlikely to achieve the best results.

We can't afford to surround ourselves with yes people. We need to have people willing to support us and also willing to voice their disagreements. Other will see issues that we don't see - perhaps never even thought about - and may even come up with a better solution than our own.

We have to make it possible for people to argue with each other - up, down, in, out, and sideways - if we are to realize the best from today's diverse and talented workforce. We shouldn't strive to win every skirmish, but instead endeavor to unite in our decisions so that we can win battles that matter most. The legacy that comes from difficult conversations will be far more creative and sustaining than ones that come from people who always see eye to eye. (Kouzes & Posner, 2006, p. 68-70)

A Leader's Legacy is available on loan from the Ohio State University Leadership Center. To borrow this resource or any other resource, please go to the resource search page http://164.107.48.88/winnebago/index.asp?lib

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Created: 2008-12-05, Updated: 2009-10-29