The Price of your Seat at the Table
- Priya Venkatesan
- 2 days ago
- 2 min read
You are part of a leadership team. On one hand, you shape direction. You have a voice.
On the other hand, you also carry what the team decides in that room even when you disagree or not onboard with the decision.
And you have the responsibility of announcing it to your team.
A senior leader I worked with was in this exact situation. New leadership had come in and a reorganisation was announced. He had pushed back, hard. He didn't think the new structure made sense. However, the decision was made.
Now he had to walk into a town hall and announce it to his team.
How do I say this without lying? They'll know I don't believe it!That was his predicament. Saying it without conviction will show disconnect. Refusing to deliver it will mean being sidelined.
Jeff Bezos and Andy Grove called the way out as , "disagree and commit."
The principle is to voice your disagreement in the room, then commit fully once the decision is made. Also to execute it with all your attention so that it doesn't show as "execution" failure but rather as "strategic failure."
This looks easy on paper. When you have to pay a price of your seat at the table, here is what helps you ease the transition towards implementing disagree and commit:
Disagreement ≠ Disloyalty
You can disagree with a decision and still commit to executing it. The alternative is a leadership team where everyone only executes what they personally agree with. That's not a team. That's a collection of individuals. When you feel the responsibility of executing a decision you did not make, it does not mean that you are not being loyal.
A little dissonance is expected. No need to go on a guilt trip.
Lead with common truth
Behind every leadership decision, there is a gravel of truth that everyone resonates with. It could be a shared purpose or a shared benefit for the organisation to move into that direction. Lead your communication with that.
No need to fake it
Fake it till you make it is not the motto here. Be real. Set the direction and if needed show vulnerability around not knowing all the answers.
Draw a line around what you won't say
There is no need to air all your frustrations. Define what you won't say before identifying what you want to say. Stay within the line.
Let them process
Give your team time to process what you said. You don't have to agree, disagree ore defend.
Acknowledge what they may be going through and give them time.
Leadership sometimes is about living unpleasant decisions without losing integrity.
How do you live it?
