Situation—You give away your power, then resent it
You're apprised of a leadership decision that you think you may not agree with, and have the responsibility to communicate the new direction to your team. You ask no questions about the decision. Afraid your employees will associate you with the leaders further up the organizational ladder, you say, "Hey, I don’t think this will work, but those guys upstairs say we have to do it, so we’re stuck."

Think you’ve shielded yourself from blame and bolstered your image as a wise, in-the-trenches warrior to your group? Think again.

Tip — Take responsibility for your contribution
You’ve passed up an opportunity to ask questions of organization leaders that may expand your awareness, deepen your understanding and influence your perspective on the decision, not to mention demonstrate leadership aptitude yourself.

By presenting the decision as if you're a passive victim of someone else's authority, you've undermined your influence and downgrade yourself to "bearer of bad news" with the very people you are supposed to be leading. You've deprived others —the employees who report to you — of information that could increase their understanding and the meaning of their work. And leaders get deprived of what could be a thoughtful "closer to the trenches" perspective.

And as if all that isn't bad enough? You've perpetuated a cycle of powerlessness and negativity in your workplace, and fostered a disempowering "us versus them" mentality.

But you can change that today. If given a similar situation, honor your instincts by letting your superiors know that you have reservations, and that perhaps with more explanation, you’ll better understand the decision. Ask thoughtful questions, respectfully present any concerns, as well as areas where you agree, and make sure that you're listening to their replies without pre-judgement.

By clearly communicating your sincere wish to support the success of the organization and the well-being of its people, you may find that your concerns affect the quality of the initiative in question. If not, you can at least come to terms with the reasons for it and deliver a message to your team as an authentic leader. In addition, you provide a model of a more positive contributor rather than a nay-sayer who pretends agreement with superiors and then undermines them with subordinates.

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