How should we face our troublesome boss who does not accept reality?

Many people have experiences of encountering bosses who do not face the reality and do not accept advocacy decisively. The situation is worst if the boss is the top of the organization such as the president, and it is not effective even if it attracts the fact, so you may feel without it. Behavioral scientists are pointing out ways to work with troublesome people who do not accept such facts.

Got a boss who denies reality? A behavioral scientist's guide to tactful truth telling
https://theconversation.com/got-a-boss-who-denies-reality-a-behavioral-scientists-guide-to-tactful-truth-telling-87925

"9.11 is a self-made self-made terrorism organized by the US government" "When President Obama is a Muslim came from Kenya" "Apollo 11 lunar landing is an imitation" To most, most people can do "changing topics". It may be unavoidable that the story does not engage with people who do not look directly at science or historical facts, but if this is a colleague or business partner of a company rather than an acquaintance, it is a very annoying problem I will.

Leadership IQ hosting an online leadership seminar interviewed a total of 1087 members of the Board of 286 companies, 23% said, "I have had the chief executive (CEO) dismissed because of rejection of reality" I answered. Also,Another studyWe also know that the code of conduct by the CEO greatly affects the company's employees' decisions, behavior patterns, interactions and other norms, and has a strong impact on the organization as a whole. It is difficult to solve that the CEO does not accept the reality, but it is a common problem in business.


According to Ohio State University's Behavioral Science Researcher Prof. Kreb Zippersky, the tendency for CEOs to deny facts themselves without acknowledging facts unacceptable in business is said to be called "ostrich effect". It is said that the ostrich is coming from the superstition of thrusting his head into the sand and stiffening when faced with fear.

In the case of encountering the troublesome "ostrich colleague", the response most people tend to take is "to stick facts". However, according to Professor Ziplersky, past studies seem to know that if an ostrich is a boss who has supervisory authority of himself, it is wrong to confide the facts. For example, even though sales are significantly below expectations, CEOs tend to deny inconvenient information to make better financial forecasts, due to the belief that "business performance should be improved"the studyI know that. Ostrich boss who dislikes to experience negative emotions by posing facts does not recognize mistakes but rather tends to thrust his head in the sand.


Also, a phenomenon called "backfire effect" that takes a posture not to yield a step at all when presented with facts reminiscent of bad emotions towards one's identity, sense of values, world view What happens is also recentthe studyIt is clear in. According to Professor Ziplersky, humans have a strong attachment as "wrong beliefs". In some cases, by presenting the facts, it is possible that the other party will take action against the desired behavior instead.

As mentioned above, the handling of bosses who do not accept facts can be said to be a very troublesome problem, but professor Zippoldski says the point of solution is "emotion". According to Professor Ziplersky, "emotion" is a fundamentally important factor in human experience, and both "reason" and "emotion" are necessary to make a good judgment. And, in order to shake the emotions of the ostrich CEO, rather than presenting the facts, from this side to demonstrate emotional leadership, "What is the emotional disturbance that hinders the boss from looking at the reality? It is important to look for "Professor Zipruzki" says. For that reason, it is important to grasp what others' values, goals, and identities are using "curiosity" and "subtle question".

And, once you understand your goals and values, it is important to try to "share" it. To that end, by repeating key points of the opponent's remarks or trying to paraphrase them with their own words, it helps to build a relationship of trust, so that as a result it is possible to effectively communicate knowledge in a professional environment It seems to be.


When confidence is born only after sharing values, once confidence comes to be established and an emotional connection can be established, finally, Professor Zippoldski says he will be able to reach out to "emotional obstacles". And what is important in removing the emotional obstacles of the other party is not to encourage active response but to state how the situation denying the fact hurts the shared goal in the long run That is to say. It is effective for ostrich boss and ostrich colleagues to give positive assistance without humorInvestigationIt is said that it is made clear.