Leaders hear 'yes' far too often. They don't hear bad news until it's too late. They get groupthink, not reality. They think they've achieved consensus, then find their decisions undermined by colleagues who never really bought in. They become isolated: even high-risk or illegal actions can go unquestioned. It's an enormous problem: for leaders, for teams, for the entire organization.
But is it inevitable? Absolutely not. In this program, Dr. Michael Roberto shows you how to stimulate dissent and debate to improve your decision making. He also shows how to keep that conflict constructive. Of course, conflict alone does not produce better decisions and improved results. Leaders need to cultivate debate and simultaneously build consensus. Strong buy-in paves the way to successful execution.
Through fascinating examples from business, space travel, mountaineering, and more, Dr. Roberto offers powerful new insights into managing teams, mitigating risk, even promoting ethics through effective governance. This course will explore each of the following: common myths of executive decision making; how to foster open debate that builds long-term consensus; how to achieve "diversity in counsel, unity in command"; how to move to closure: overcoming the inability to decide; avoiding "analysis paralysis" and other pitfalls; how to gain the whole-hearted commitment to act; and how to address hidden doubts that could undermine your final decision. This program for senior leaders will help you leverage your team's immense untapped wisdom to make better decisions-and get better results.
Dr. Michael Roberto is the Trustee Professor of Management at Bryant University in Smithfield, RI. He joined the tenured faculty at Bryant after serving for six years on the faculty at Harvard Business School. He has also been a Visiting Associate Professor of Management at New York University's Stern School of Business.
His research focuses on decision-making, teamwork, and leadership. He has published three books, the latest of which is titled Unlocking Creativity (Wiley, 2019), Why Great Leaders Don't Take Yes For An Answer (2nd edition published in 2013), and Know What You Don't Know (published in 2009). He also has developed three Great Courses lecture series, the best-selling Everest Leadership and Team Simulation, and the award-winning Columbia's Final Mission multi-media case study about the 2003 space shuttle accident.
Dr. Roberto has taught in leadership development programs and consulted at several firms, including Mars, Deloitte, Google, Target, Apple, FedEx, Disney, Morgan Stanley, IBM, Wal-Mart, Amica, and Textron. He's also presented at numerous government organizations, including the FBI, NASA, Joint Special Operations Command, the Air War College, and West Point.
He received an A.B. with honors from Harvard College in 1991. He earned an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School in 1995, graduating as a George F. Baker Scholar. He also received his doctorate from Harvard Business School in 2000.