The Value of Being Challenged by Someone Outside Your Business

Research & Sources / Mentorship & Sounding Boards

A punching bag never hits back. A boxer can train on it for years, get very strong, and still lose the first real fight, because a real opponent moves, blocks and punches. That is why serious boxers have sparring partners. Leaders who are surrounded only by agreement are training on a punching bag.

Agreement feels good

Inside a company, most people have good reasons to agree with the boss. Their job, their bonus, their next promotion depend on it. Even in friendly, open companies, disagreeing with the person at the top takes courage.

So leaders hear a lot of “good idea”, “makes sense” and “let’s do it”. That feels pleasant. It is also dangerous, because the weak spots in a plan stay hidden until reality finds them.

Groupthink

Psychologist Irving Janis described a pattern he called groupthink: in close, harmonious groups, the wish for agreement can override realistic thinking about alternatives and risks.¹ Doubts are not spoken, critics are quietly pushed aside, and everyone ends up more confident than they should be.

Groupthink is most likely when a group is close-knit, has a strong leader and is under pressure. That describes many leadership teams.

Why outside challenge works

Someone outside the company does not depend on your approval. They can say “I don’t believe this number” or “this sounds like the same mistake as last year” without risking anything.

Pixar’s leaders built this into their creative process with what they call the Braintrust: a group of experienced peers who give each film director candid feedback, while the director keeps the final decision.² The challenge is sharp, but it is offered to help, and the person in charge stays in charge.

Daniel Kahneman and colleagues recommend checking big decisions specifically for the ways a team might have fooled itself, because people see these patterns more easily in others than in their own reasoning.³

How to invite challenge

Ask for it explicitly. “I want you to find the weakest point in this plan.”

Try a premortem. Gary Klein suggests imagining that the project has already failed and asking everyone to explain why.⁴ It gives people permission to say what they really fear.

Thank the challenger. Even when you disagree. Especially when you disagree.

Keep the decision. Being challenged does not mean being overruled. You listen, think, and then decide.

What this means for you this week

• Take your most important current plan and ask someone outside to attack it.
• Run a ten-minute premortem with your team on one project.
• Notice when you last heard a real “no” from someone close to you.
• Find one sparring partner for the next quarter.

A punching bag makes you strong. A sparring partner makes you ready.

Sources

1. Wikipedia. Groupthink (overview of Irving Janis’s concept and later research). en.wikipedia.orgHow the wish for harmony in a close group can override realistic appraisal of alternatives.
2. Catmull, E. (2008). How Pixar Fosters Collective Creativity. Harvard Business Review. hbr.orgPixar’s “Braintrust”: a group of experienced peers who give candid feedback while the director keeps the decision.
3. Kahneman, D., Lovallo, D. & Sibony, O. (2011). Before You Make That Big Decision. Harvard Business Review, June 2011. hbr.orgLeaders spot biases in others’ proposals more easily than in their own; a 12-question checklist for testing big decisions.
4. Klein, G. (2007). Performing a Project Premortem. Harvard Business Review. hbr.orgImagining that a project has already failed and asking why helps teams find risks they would otherwise miss.