Dissent is essential for meaningful dialogue, reflection, and commitment. Suppressing doubts or disagreements drives negativity underground, but surfacing them fosters understanding, ownership, and progress. “No” begins the path to genuine collaboration and effective change.
Embrace Dissent, Don't Suppress It
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Credit: This post was influenced by the work of Peter Block.
Change Insights
Complex Is Not the Same as Complicated Change Insight - Understanding the distinction between 'complicated' and 'complex' is crucial. This insight transforms our approach to problem-solving, highlighting that complicated problems… Connection Before Content Change Insight - Connection must precede content; building relationships is essential for meaningful work, collaboration, and change. Without relatedness, efforts fall flat. Small… Conversation Is Action Change Insight - Conversation is action. It rewires our thinking, shapes possibilities, and aligns efforts. By fostering dialogue, we create the conditions for… Don’t Try to Change People, Change How They Interact Change Insight - Change emerges organically through interactions and relationships within complex systems. Rather than imposing top-down mandates, create conditions that attract desired… Don’t Speak Badly of Others, Even When It Is True Change Insight - Avoid speaking badly of others, even when the information is true. Truth does not justify harm. Words can damage trust,… Embrace Dissent, Don’t Suppress It Change Insight - Dissent is essential for meaningful dialogue, reflection, and commitment. Suppressing doubts or disagreements drives negativity underground, but surfacing them fosters… Move from Knowledge to Agency Change Insight - Knowledge alone is not power; it’s the potential for power. True power lies in the ability to act on knowledge.… Pursue Complex Goals Obliquely Change Insight - Don't pursue complex goals directly; adopt an oblique approach. Start by solving specific problems iteratively, remain open to serendipity, and… Speak with Less Conviction Change Insight - Speaking with less conviction opens dialogue, encourages learning, and inspires creativity. Overconfidence signals closed-mindedness, hindering persuasion and discovery. Use conditional… Stop Making People Accountable. Let Them Choose It Change Insight - Chosen accountability transforms work from compliance to commitment. When people voluntarily say yes to a responsibility, they act from care,… Stop Treating Information as a Thing Change Insight - We often think of information as something that can be stored or transmitted. But if it does not change how… We are not enemies but friends Change Insight - When we choose to see those who disagree with us as potential friends, not adversaries, we create space for empathy,… 
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Online Knowledge Café: Conversational Leadership — Beyond Knowledge Management
Wednesday 17th March 2026, 14:00 - 15:30 London time
Knowledge Management gives us access to information, but it does not decide or act. In this Knowledge Café, we will explore how Conversational Leadership builds on KM by strengthening shared reasoning, judgement, and agency. Join us to examine how we think together when knowledge alone is not enough.