Leaders are not experts

Both men and women fall into the gendered traps and look to a male authority figure to come up with a solution. This is a problem and a risk.

Leaders must pay attention to any tendency they have to speak as though they’re an authority on all matters. The role of a leader is to harness the expertise of others, not to be the expert.  Their value comes from listening, synthesising and making the best possible decision the information at hand.

Male leaders, in particular, can fall into the gendered trap of sounding like the authority on all matters. Ideas can be presented as if there are no alternatives and relied on as the answer. It may silence people who have greater knowledge but less confidence. This is a problem and a risk especially if a decision is likely to impact many people.

Next time a leader talks as if he knows exactly how to proceed and you have an alternate perspective, speak up. Challenge him. Present your own view. If it helps, remind yourself that he might just be operating from an instinctive and learned pattern, much like Uncle Ross at  the dinner table who has an opinion about everything, but seldom all the facts. With your family, you can be polite. At work you have a responsibility to speak up.

Comments

[D]

What is the next step after presenting your own view and those views (as well as others' views) are steam-rolled and ignored?

My Director encouraged me to try to "manage up" my manager as it was well known that he was like this - but I (and others) found it to be impossible?

[Deborah]

Your responsibility is to present your views. It is the responsibility of your manager, or leader, to listen, and use what he or she hears to inform decisions. Which means that your ideas may not be used.

It is definitely an issue if your ideas are ignored, but ultimately it's a problem for the leader who is responsible and has accountability for decisions made with less than all the information and input provided.