Dissent is a superpower. When properly integrated into organisations, it makes them healthy — it should be protected, not barely tolerated.
During my #malvagiLunches I keep hearing the same story: in too many companies, total consensus has become a kind of institutional obligation, where voicing a different idea carries the very real risk of organisational ostracism.
I see the same thing happening in politics — in Italy, and rather obviously across the Atlantic too.
Which is a shame, because in my experience, silent consensus is almost always the surest way to change nothing — and often to make things actively worse.
Let’s be clear: in any decision-making context, the absence of doubt is not harmony. It’s conformism. Or worse, it’s fear.
So I find myself wondering where the courage went — the courage to politely offer a different perspective, to ask uncomfortable questions, to say ‘I disagree, and here’s why’.
Are you a proud member of the ‘uncomfortable questions’ club?
Don’t lie to yourself — let me know in the comments. Or, in true malvag fashion, tag someone who could stand to disagree a little more often.