Steps to take when you Strongly Disagree with a Managers Actions
Corporate culture entails managerial behavior in accordance with the highest ethical standards. When your manager flouts this requisite for a proper work environment or deliberately infringes on the rights of the employees, regardless of the reason(s), you may feel entitled to express your discontent in a face to face discussion with him/her or during a weekly briefing. Before you proceed either way, bethink yourself of how you could make the best of the confrontation.
Give your manager the benefit of the doubt
Ask yourself the question, “What’s the rationale behind his/her behavior”? If their actual reasons for such conduct are grounded, it means that you were wrong and any further course of action is futile. But if the reverse is true, you need to muster all the self-confidence and grit that you have and voice your complaint!
Prepare beforehand
The confrontation will undoubtedly fall flat unless you steer it otherwise. With that in mind, do not hesitate to look into the matter carefully and draw up a list of all the arguments in your favor. Make sure you know very well what you are talking about so that, in the event of a heated discussion, you can substantiate your claims.
Choose the right time
No matter how pending an issue may be, approach your manager at an inappropriate time and the chances are high that he/she is going to brush you aside. Do it in the right place at the right time and the tenor of the discussion may turn out to be in your favor. Ultimately it is up to you to decide how and when. You may arrange a meeting with your manager at a mutually convenient time to discuss what bothers you face to face. If it is impossible, for various reasons, to have a face to face discussion, you may send an email or give a call but the outcome may be less satisfactory. In any event, avoid rebuking your manager’s decisions during urgent staff meetings to discuss crucial issues!
Establish credibility
A determined, poised and self-assured individual is more likely to get his/her message across than an insecure and insipid one. Therefore, when you talk with your manager, do your best to be clear, concise and last but not least persuasive! Your manager may take too hard-line of an approach on the whole issue but if you manage to corroborate your claims with consistent arguments and in a professional manner you will surely make your voice heard!
