Dissent - Publications - Faculty & Research

14 Jun 2023
Research & Ideas

Four Steps to Building the Psychological Safety That High-Performing Teams Need

you’re saying, ‘I value your voice,’” Edmondson says. Finally, good leaders don’t get angry if the response isn’t what they want to hear. “Don’t shoot the messenger. Don’t get angry when you hear a dissenting view or bad news. In a... View Details

Keywords: by Kara Baskin

26 Aug 2002
Research & Ideas

High-Stakes Decision Making: The Lessons of Mount Everest

to test critical assumptions vigorously to root out overly optimistic projections. Fostering constructive dissent poses another challenge for managers. As we see in the Everest case, insufficient debate among team members can diminish the... View Details

Keywords: by Michael A. Roberto

27 Jul 2021
Op-Ed

What Pirates Can Teach Us About Leadership

With the blessing of the vessel’s owner, the captain treated crewmen as he saw fit, often harshly. Sailors were beaten, overworked, underpaid, and sometimes starved. Morale was low. Dissent was punished as mutiny. Pirates, by contrast,... View Details

Keywords: by Francesca Gino

29 Sep 2022
Op-Ed

Inclusive Leadership Advice: Get Comfortable With the Uncomfortable

disapproval takes the form of silence—“the death pause,” as Pixar’s Ed Catmull describes it. Improv comedy teaches us to keep an open mind, understanding that communication drives insight and that closed conversations generally fail. View Details

Keywords: by Francesca Gino

20 Oct 2008
Research & Ideas

The Seven Things That Surprise New CEOs

learn about events after the fact. You hear concerns and dissenting views through the grapevine rather than directly. Surprise Four: You Are Always Sending A Message Warning signs: Employees circulate stories about your behavior that... View Details

Keywords: by Michael E. Porter, Jay W. Lorsch & Nitin Nohria

04 Apr 2022
What Do You Think?

As Disney Board Chair, What Would You Advise CEO Bob Chapek Regarding 'Don’t Say Gay'?

to age discrimination. But I reserve the right to raise questions about sensitive topics. Related reading from the Working Knowledge Archives Encouraging Dissent in Decision-Making View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

15 Oct 2001
Research & Ideas

What You Don’t Know About Making Decisions

stages and managers feel the pressure of deadlines and the rush to close, they often compromise or adjust the criteria they originally created for judging the appropriateness of the deal. Dissent and Debate. David Hume, the great Scottish... View Details

Keywords: by David A. Garvin & Michael A. Roberto

28 May 2020
Research & Ideas

Coronavirus Could Create a 'Bankruptcy Pandemic'

majority of creditors in a particular class—at least two-thirds in terms of value and one-half in number—has to approve the plan; dissenting creditors in the class must accept the will of the majority. This feature reduces the ability of... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Financial Services; Banking

05 Nov 2013
First Look

First Look: November 5

https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/download.aspx?name=14-033.pdf Independent Directors' Dissent on Boards: Evidence from Listed Companies in China By: Ma, Juan, and Tarun Khanna Abstract—In this paper, we examine the circumstances under... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

06 Jun 2005
Research & Ideas

Don’t Listen to “Yes”

recognize that expressing dissent can be very difficult and uncomfortable for lower-level managers and employees. Therefore, leaders cannot wait for dissent to come to them; they must actively go seek it out... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

23 Nov 1999
Research & Ideas

Bringing the Environment Down to Earth

Avoiding dissenting opinion. People find it comfortable to talk with those who share their views. Managers need to keep their minds open to the new perspectives and new facts that can come from regular conversations with government... View Details

Keywords: by Forest Reinhardt

30 Apr 2019
First Look

New Research and Ideas, April 30, 2019

Informing Dissent By: Greene, Hillary, and Dennis Yao Abstract—The first part of this commentary argues that because the production of dissent depends on the availability of information, greater attention... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

29 Mar 2008
Research & Ideas

Creativity, Entrepreneurship, and Organizations of the Future

culture that permits dissent and failures. The highly uncertain nature of both creativity and entrepreneurship. Such high levels of uncertainty lead to the dilemma of whether to choose the certain but incremental improvement that... View Details

Keywords: by Teresa M. Amabile & Mukti Khaire

02 Jan 2008
Research & Ideas

Most Popular Stories 2007

determination of compensation and, if so, how? Encouraging Dissent in Decision-Making Our natural tendency to maintain silence and not rock the boat, a flaw at once personal and organizational, results in bad—sometimes deadly—decisions.... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

05 Jul 2004
What Do You Think?

Work-Life: Is Productivity in the Balance?

of balance when it is placed in the context of their personal values, interests, and stage of life." There were a few dissenters to these views. Tom Patterson characterized these in opining that "Most people in an organization... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

27 Sep 2010
Research & Ideas

Customer Experts Lose Influence When Teams are Pressured

for relevant customization and adaptation to specific client needs. This is a significant aspect of maintaining ongoing client relationships. I observed that teams under heightened pressure tend to shut out dissenting points of view and... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert

13 Nov 2000
Research & Ideas

Managing to Learn: How Companies Can Turn Knowledge into Action

also emphasizes the importance of establishing an atmosphere conducive to organizational learning — a task he entrusts primarily to corporate leaders, who, he says, need to be tolerant of dissent and ready to hear new views. Learning... View Details

Keywords: by Laurie Joan Aron

11 Apr 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research, April 11

Dell MBO, T. Rowe Price, together with other dissident Dell shareholders, sought appraisal of their shares in the Delaware courts. The appraisal process resulted in a significant increase in the price to be paid to dissenting shareholders... View Details

22 Jun 2009
Research & Ideas

“Too Big To Fail”: Reining In Large Financial Firms

issued a dissenting minority report. The partisan clash of views foreshadowed the political debate now echoing in the corridors on Capitol Hill. The Case For More Regulation Looking at the historical record, Moss makes a strong case that... View Details

Keywords: by Roger Thompson; Banking; Financial Services

07 Feb 2007
Research & Ideas

Dividends from Schumpeter’s Noble Failure

frequent tributes to "science," he gives ample space to dissenting opinions. If this made his book more difficult and less persuasive, then so be it. Striking an almost defiant tone, Schumpeter says in his preface, "The... View Details

Keywords: by Thomas K. McCraw

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