The Fool’s Choice
The Fool’s Choice: When you feel you have only two choices:
- Silently accept the problem
- Speak about the problem but damage a relationship
Effective conversationalists manage to address the problem without damaging the relationship. They refuse to accept the fool’s choice.
Sharing Information
There are two aspects of good communication: allowing for the free flow of information and maintaining relationships.
When there is free flow of information, the team’s collective IQ goes up and they usually make better decisions, and team members are much more likely to accept the final decision - especially if they’ve already spoken their objections and know their objections have been considered.
When people do not feel safe to share the information, you get less ownership and a half hearted commitment. Or people will use nastier tactics to ensure their view is presented (verbal attacks, manipulation, etc).