No matter your relationship with your boss, he or she is still your boss. So when ideas get pitched from the cushier chair at the end of the table, you are usually expected to respond.
Kill two birds with one stone. Asking for more information both gives you insight and gives you more time to come up with a response.
But what if that idea is a bit, shall we say, crazy? We are not just talking one of those “interesting” ideas that pop up everything once in a while. We are talking something that isn’t just out of the box; it blows the box to smithereens … and not in a good way.
According to Sara McCord, in How to Respond to a Crazy Idea From your Boss, there are a couple of diplomatic ways to handle a doozy.
Reframe the Problem and Response
You don’t want to be the one to tell your boss he had a bad idea, and he doesn’t want to hear it.
“So, put the cushion before the ax by trying to find a universe in which the idea could work,” says McCord.
McCord set up an example like this:
The problem: “I once had a boss suggest that we ask an organization we were renting a space from to host the event—in its inaugural year. Before I launched into why you can’t go from paying someone to asking them to plan your event, I first acknowledged the universe in which he had a point—in this case that it would be mutually beneficial for both organizations to be involved.”
Reframing the response: “Surely, that’s something that might be of interest to them in three to five years. However—first things first—we have to throw a successful event to show them that we can draw their crossover audience.”
Ask for More Information
Kill two birds with one stone. Asking for more information both gives you insight and gives you more time to come up with a response.
The key is to ensure you ask in the right tone.
“A former supervisor had the best advice for a situation like this: She advised starting with the words, ‘I’m confused.’ By framing your inquiry along the lines of, ‘Hmmm—could you tell me more about…’ you seem curious (as opposed to defensive) while still satisfying your desire to figure out what the heck is going on,” says McCord.
Just the Facts
What if the boss is obsessed with an idea? This may go farther than just putting you on the spot by asking for your thoughts in a meeting. What if your boss just won’t let go of an idea that you are convinced is a horrible plan?
First, examine your motives. Do you know for sure the idea won’t work, or are you biased against it for some reason? If it is the former, then come prepared with actual facts to help your boss understand why pursuing this idea would be detrimental.
“I don’t know what ‘it won’t work’ means — tell me why,” Barbara Pachter, author of The Essentials of Business Etiquette and president of business communications training company Pachter & Associates is quoted as saying in the article What Should you do When your Boss is Obsessed with a Terrible Idea? “If you give me the specifics it will be harder to argue with that.”
Article author Alison Griswold suggests using hard numbers to back up your argument and to come to the table with alternative ideas. Be part of the solution, rather than just an idea squasher.