<div><div><p>At McKinsey, you are supposed to feel profoundly unsettled if people around you are not engaged in debate, challenging your ideas. <b>Junior-level staffers are empowered to challenge their senior advisors, as long as it helps to create a more innovative solution.<span> </span></b></p>
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How To Encourage Debate

<p><b>To ensure that the best ideas really do win, you can encourage employees to debate with facts and data, rather than with personal criticism</b>.<span data-ccp-props="{}">&nbsp;</span></p>
<p>Steve Jobs of Apple has compared the process of organizational debate to a rock tumbler, in which the process of grinding up rocks makes a lot of noise and friction, but what comes out is beautiful and refined.&nbsp;</p>

Criticism ≠ Debate

<p>One of the best ways to get <b>the very best ideas for your organization</b> and tap into the power of the crowd <b>is by encouraging active debate at all levels of the organization</b>.&nbsp;</p>

Giving Employees A Voice

Without practice and encouragement, debate is uncomfortable.<p>Establish a “permission zone” that empowers your people with the <b>freedom to confront the hard topics and the confidence to challenge assumptions in how your organization “always” does things</b>. This change in perspective results in massive new opportunities to elevate your business.<span> </span></p>

Getting Comfortable With Debate

Of course, there needs to be a sharp line drawn between "criticism" and "debate." As a rule of thumb, all criticism should be handled in private, behind closed doors. Personal criticism can be dangerous, and that's why any criticism should be based on the merit of the underlying idea.

Getting Comfortable With Debate

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