Encouraging Disagreements At Your Workplace Could Lead To More Innovations

Encouraging Disagreements At Your Workplace Could Lead To More Innovations

- Billy Paul Ebenezer

When Steve Wozniak, the co-founder of Apple, recently said that Indians lacked creativity, millions of Indians were left shell-shocked. According to Wozniak, it is the “risk-averse culture” which prevents Indians from experimenting and innovating. This audacious claim, though, could be a cause of disagreement, as India prides itself on a vibrant culture even amidst average socio-economic conditions. Nevertheless, it looks like Wozniak has opened the “Pandora’s Box,” which was left untouched in the corporate arena for a long time. In fact, even the Indian tech czar NR Narayana Murthy lamented this fact a while ago, when he said, “There has not been a single earth-shaking invention from India in the last 60 years that became a household name globally.” Creativity, it seems, springs only from an atmosphere of trust, respect, and empowerment. And the question every good leader need to ask themselves is: am I fostering an atmosphere within my team or organization, where the freedom of expression is encouraged?

Why there isn’t Freedom of Expression

“Cultivating an open environment is tough because people are wired to be conservative,” says James Detert, who specialises in transparent communication in the workplace. often, employees are not open or candid with their assertions due to fear of reprisals or an indifferent attitude. In fact, this indifferent attitude stems from an atmosphere of tacit workplace bullying. For instance, many managers, psychologically feel strong and good, when their subordinates constantly corroborate their ideas, if not remain passive; however, they quickly feel insecure and resort to passive suppression, even when one of their subordinates express themselves freely and openly. According to research, 44.3% of the corporate workers in India experience or have experienced workplace bullying in one form or the other.