Three Questions to Ask Before Choosing Battles at Work
When you disagree with corporate policy, think your coworker’s idea is terrible , or are convinced that your boss will not do the best with the program he wants to implement, the solution seems simple: voice your disagreement, right?
This post was originally published on the Muse website .
While speaking your mind is great (and, as many managers will tell you, a valuable asset in an employee), it isn’t always worth your (or your team’s) time to pay attention to every issue you disagree with.
While it may sound counterintuitive, let’s take me as an example: you see, I’m far from confrontational and don’t get into fights often, but in the first few jobs I chased some conflicts that were just not worth it. Whether I rallied against corporate politics that were carved in stone, or rejected all of a colleague’s ideas that I personally disliked , in the end, some of the battles did work against me.
So, to make sure you’re getting into the really big battles (and with the right intentions), learn from my mistakes – and ask yourself the following questions before you go into action.
1. Do personal feelings get in the way?
You wo n’t become best friends with everyone you work with . In fact, there may be a few coworkers that you strongly dislike. But when you start mixing your professional responsibilities with your personal worries, it becomes much easier to find arguments.
In my last job, I chose the worst person to have negative feelings: my boss. We had known each other for several years , so our feelings were deeper than the typical relationship between an employee and a manager. And as soon as this dislike developed, I felt a sudden urge to find negativity in her every idea, which, it can be argued, caused some tension in the office.
I had to train myself to take a step back and evaluate my intentions: did I really oppose this idea? Or did I argue to prove she was wrong? As soon as I started looking at the driving force behind my battles, I found that most of the time I pressed on her as a person – not necessarily on her ideas.
2. Will it make me look bad – and if so, is it worth it?
Usually, my employees are allowed to surf the web on their work computers during lunch breaks if they indicate publicly (usually with a sign on the table) that they are having lunch. So I was surprised when my boss called me to his office recently to tell me that the bosses think this eating habit looks unproductive and therefore doesn’t allow it anymore .
I immediately took a defensive position. After all, my hourly employees are not paid during lunchtime, so in my opinion they should be able to use that time however they please.
Wanting to rally for my team’s right to have a lunch break, I began to actively oppose this new rule to my boss (I vaguely remember using the phrase ” stupid corporate policy “). My boss was quick to disprove the fact that, as “silly” as it was, my job was to support the wishes of senior management.
I quickly realized that my position against corporate politics would not do much good and, in fact, did not put me in a good light with my boss or leaders. Now, if the problem were more serious, it might be worth continuing to fight for what I believed in. But in my case, knowing that most of my employees have access to a smartphone and break the upstairs room, I knew this was not a battle I really needed to fight.
3. Am I willing to do more than just complain?
Look closely and there are definitely things you don’t like about your organization. You may be thinking that the process should be more efficient, your CRM software should have different functionality, or the leadership needs to use a different leadership style.
There is one particular employee in my office who especially enjoys pointing out these things – several times a day. “Customer service never gives me the information I need,” he tells me, or “This process is a waste of time.”
Does he have serious concerns? Absolutely. The fact is that when I asked him to send me detailed examples of his problem or to suggest an alternative solution, he suddenly fell silent. Without this willingness to help, choosing these battles has become an unproductive exercise .
The same goes for rebutting one of your colleague’s ideas. Do you have a ready-made proposal on how to change the proposal on the table? Without a well thought out counter offer, your “I don’t think this will work” will not help anyone.
Of course, there are a few battles that you should continue, but by figuring out how to effectively tackle the less important battles, you will have more energy to focus on the really important battles.
Choose Your Battles: 3 Questions To Ask Before Not Taking A Job | Muse