Five steps toward thwarting a team rebellion

Have you ever been blindsided by rebellion in a meeting?

You adequately prepared. The objectives were clear.

Then someone objects to one of your assumptions halfway through and others just add to the objections. Don’t worry: It’s possible to regain control.

Far too often, executives try to minimise rebellion by making meetings "rubber stamp" events where everything has been decided beforehand and there's no room for open discussion.

But that’s a huge mistake. Repressing differences of opinion makes you less adaptable and makes your meeting a boring waste of time.

Instead, you need to be open to differences of opinion and dissent in the ranks.

In the moment you’re feeling besieged, go back to basics: Talk about the vision or purpose of the organisation or group you are leading. Specifically, you need to:

1 Pause and take a few deep breaths to settle your own anger, panic or confusion.

2 Ask the group to pause.

3 Affirm the group’s ideas with statements like: “You are raising some important points. Let’s make sure we consider all perspectives and make this a better decision.”

4 Try to guide the discussion to something bigger than the immediate question. “Before returning to the discussion about tactics and details, could we spend a few minutes refreshing our memories about our vision and purpose – why do we exist?”

5 Ask how each of the arguments presented would help the team live that vision and pursue that deeper purpose.

This type of approach creates a time shift in perspective, refocusing people on their shared purpose, not on the tactics for getting there.

Try it next time you feel blindsided in a meeting. You may be surprised to find how shifting the conversation to a shared purpose can diffuse emotions and get your team back on a more productive, collaborative path.

– Copyright Harvard Business Review 2015