I remember quite a bit from when I first became a Board member and when I first became a Chair. One of my stronger memories is of my intent to learn from my own experience of other leaders – not only the things I wanted to emulate, but also the things I hoped never to imitate!
An important component of leadership is the element of challenge; of being open to making challenges, and to being challenged.
This article is about what makes for effective challenge. It draws on what I have learnt from being challenged and from challenging others – sometimes very effectively, and sometimes less so.
A few years ago I started talking about elegant, respectful challenge as a framework for delivering effective challenge. As an experienced NHS Non-Executive Director, I know how critical effective challenge is in the Boardroom. Making challenge elegant and respectful is about giving every challenge the very best chance of being understood, heard, acted upon, and therefore actually working.
Here are my top tips for making every challenge elegant and respectful.
Making my challenge elegant
- Make sure I know what I am hoping to achieve from the challenge
What is the point of my challenge? By asking myself “What am I trying to achieve with this challenge?” I can test the rationale behind it, and then make sure the way I describe the challenge is clear. If I can’t articulate what I’m trying to achieve for myself, then I need to re-think it, as it will likely not be clear to the person being challenged, and will therefore be less likely to succeed.
- Be clear what difference my challenge can make – the “So what?”
“So what?” is one of my favourite questions, and is a great one to apply to a potential challenge. If the answer is that the challenge will have little or no impact, then I need to reframe it so it will. Or I might choose not to voice it at all.
- Express the change I am seeking, and describe what it would look like if it were achieved
If the person whose idea I am challenging goes out of the room knowing something isn’t right or good enough, but doesn’t have a sense of what I think “good” would look like, then they are less likely to feel able to act on the challenge. If I know what “good” would look like, then I can explain this. It should not be a test left to the best guesswork of the person being challenged; they may well have already made their best attempt at getting to “good” and, without a clear steer, there is little reason to expect them to get closer on a second or third attempt.
- Be clear about the parameters affecting what I am challenging about (e.g. timetable, reporting, cost)
If I am expecting an action to be completed by a certain time, it is worth checking I know sufficient about what I’m asking and the context for those expected to deliver, to know if it is actually achievable in that time. Is my timetable an essential deadline or a target? If it is a deadline, have I been clear about how much of a priority responding to this challenge is in the context of other work and, if necessary, what else could make way for it? If there is a potential cost to some of the solutions to my challenge, have I been clear about what can be spent when? I’ve seen a Board-level challenge result in the next month’s Board getting an excellent action plan proposal that could easily have been a report on actions already implemented, had the parameters of the original challenge been better framed.
Making my challenge respectful
- What do I know about the person being challenged that will help me frame it so it lands as well as it can?
If I’m expecting someone to listen to – and hear – my challenge, I need to present it in the best way possible for them. If I am lucky enough to know someone well, I will hopefully have insight into how they respond to challenge (e.g. Do they get defensive? Do they “Yes, but…” and not hear? Do they agree without taking time to reflect?) and I can then frame my challenge in a way to best help them hear it. If I don’t know them well, I can observe them as I challenge, and can check their understanding of what I am saying. I might, for example, check if what I’m asking for is clear enough for them to explain it to others who need to know. If I’m not sure I have been understood, it is respectful of me to check that out.
- Make the challenge at the best (or right) time
It is worth reflecting on the timing of a challenge. It may feel like there is no option to challenging at a given time, but that is not always the case. If there is a choice, the timing should be about enabling the success of this challenge, with this person, taking account of this context.
If a challenge doesn’t need to be made in front of others, then I need a clear rationale for not making it in private. That rationale should be focused on delivering a better chance of the challenge being effective. Exploring a challenge in more detail may be more productively done outside a meeting rather than in the midst of it.
Of course some things need immediate challenge – a racist comment in a meeting, for example, should be challenged at the time; to not do so sends a message to everyone in the room that such a comment is “acceptable”, and it is our responsibility as leaders to hold the respect of all in the room by not letting such messages be given.
And sometimes there is no “good time” for a challenge, just the “least worst”. If that’s the best I can do, that needs to feel okay to me, otherwise I risk not making the challenge at all.
- Am I “tackling the ball, not the player”?
I need to make the challenge about the issue, not the person. This is particularly important if the issue is about a statement or action by the person being challenged. If it has become about them, or is about point scoring between us, then I need to either reframe my challenge, or not make it all. If you challenge my behaviour or my statements without attacking or belittling me, I will be better able to hear you.
- Is this challenge for consideration or is there no choice?
If my challenge is genuinely open, trying to elicit different thinking or actions, but what that difference looks like isn’t fixed, then my challenge needs to make this clear, as this might help inspire innovation and fresh ideas. But if the challenge does have a “right” answer, I need to not muddle the picture by implying more choice and options than actually exists. If I need it to “look like this, and be done in this way”, then I should make this clear. Otherwise I may unintentionally invite responses that take up time and effort, but won’t give what I need.
And am I…
- Open to the possibility I may not be right, and to being challenged back?
It is vital to remember my own fallibility before challenging! I might not have all the information needed for a decision; my knowledge may not be accurate or up to date; I may have misinterpreted information or a statement; I might just be plain wrong! A bit of humility can help when challenging: it can make it easier for someone to tell me when I’ve not got it right, and, if it becomes part of a reputation for elegant, respectful challenge, can help my other challenges be well-heard.
How Because It Matters Ltd can help you develop elegant, respectful challenge
If you want to discuss how I might be able to work with you on elegant, respectful challenge – for example through one-to-one coaching, or through team/ Board development – you can contact me via the “contact Paul” tab.
Paul Devlin
Director
April 2018
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