Why Your Team’s Disagreement Might Be Your Greatest Asset

Disagreement can be the catalyst for change — or it can be the problem that halts progress entirely. We all have the power to disagree, but do we use that power wisely?

Let’s start by defining “I Dissent.” It’s more than simple disagreement. Dissent is using your power to sway, to state, or to show a lack of support. And here’s what most people don’t realize: we all have that power. Even a toddler.

We see it when a two-year-old clamps their mouth shut and refuses to eat mashed carrots. That’s dissent. In our fifteen-year-olds, it’s their ability — or inability — to check their attitude at the door. In our early twenties, it’s the choice to dismiss advice from mentors and sage guides because we have a college degree and suddenly we’re the expert.

Here’s what dissent looks like at work:

• Being difficult during implementation of a new strategy because we don’t conceptually agree with the direction
• Quietly quitting because the work environment isn’t engaging and we’re doing what we can while we look for a new opportunity
• Not embracing new technology (like AI) because we’re afraid of the power it has to replace aspects of our role

As leaders, we both encounter dissent and experience it ourselves. Our goal should be to get it out in the open, work through it, and refuse to let disagreement become a roadblock to progress.

People ask me often how long cultural change takes. The answer? As early as eighteen months … and as long as never. It starts with being able to have smart conversations about how we move forward without 100% agreement — because waiting for unanimous buy-in is waiting forever.

As a leader, it starts with creating space for disagreement. Conflict is best addressed in the open.

Think of a simple matrix with two axes: Do I agree or disagree? and Can I live with it or can’t I? When you agree and can live with it — great, you’re aligned. When you disagree but can live with it, you agree with reservation and say, “Let’s move on.” When you disagree and can’t live with it, you say, “Let’s discuss more.” And when you agree but can’t live with it? That combination simply doesn’t exist — it’s off the table.

Use this matrix as a way to progress when you reach a difficult point in a discussion. Give your team the language to express where they stand without making it personal or political. Don’t let dissent — or people’s use of their power — be destructive. Use it to construct a new way forward, one where everyone involved feels a part of the progress and momentum so you learn over time that dissent isn’t the enemy – silence is.