Not agreeing with management decision

[Jammylou]

How do I as a leader, deal with a decision higher management make when I don't agree with it.
I have told my line manager I don't agree as it is negatively impacting on team members of my team. My Manager has said she wants to meet me to discuss how I'm managing the situation.
I haven't acted unprofessionally but vented to her my disapproval. She always tells me I can vent to her so im not sure what she is referring to. Surely I am allowed to have my own opinion if I think the situation has been handled badly.
She said the team will pick up on my negativity towards the situation however I do not agree so feel I should not pretend to my team that it's OK when I actually feel they are being wronged.

Difficult -I think is quite OK to complain / vent upwards but to some extent you do have do keep the team on board - 1st line mgr is a very hard job.

Yep, I think this is the tricky part of being on the team manager step of the ladder.

You have no say in senior management decision making, and you’re the face of the managers to the team so you get the brunt of the shit from up and down.

How big is the company? Is it public or private sector? Do you have career ambitions? I think that all plays a part in how you go forward.

You just have to deal with it.

You are there to do a job, and implement management requirements. If you dislike it too much to be part of them you need to resign.

Public sector very large going through significant budget cuts.
Number of staff losses in another department shpuodnt affect my team but decisions they are making means it is.

I’ve worked public sector and seen managers approach it differently, primarily based on how ambitious they were to climb the ladder.

People who were content with their grade would be pretty frank when they didn’t agree with a decision, in a hands up, ‘not my monkeys, not my circus’ kind of way. They understood they had no control of budgets or decision making, and were simply a cog in a wheel of implementing the will of the higher ups. They had no qualms in expressing this to their manager and to their team. Once a decision is made, there can be a bit of grief but then I think there has to be a like it or lump it approach if the situation gets too stale.

If you do have career ambitions, you play the game of public service politics. If you have legitimate concerns you can record them, but you have to be seen to be constructive and positive.

@Jammylou "My Manager has said she wants to meet me to discuss how I'm managing the situation"

I suspect she'll say you are not gaslighting the team enough to get them to be jolly about it, so do be wary.

A lot of strange workplace Pollyanna types are just gaslighting with a smile because that's how they keep their job.

My favourite LM was one who would tell the team "this is happening...I know it's shit but the higher ups have decided". So we had the solidarity of knowing she hated it too. But you have to have a 100% trustworthy team to do that.

Recently I have seen a couple of posts that made me want to scream "how could you put that in writing". Please don't be a victim of this - be careful what you say and be absolutely rigid about not saying a bad word in writing.

I couldn't do LM because I can't defend someone's crap choices. I will take the flak for my own mistakes, but I can't carry the company trophy saying "yay, let's do this thing we all hate and adds to our workload, may not benefit the business".

God forbid a manager advocates for their reports.

I think the issue is that even if you toe the party line, if you don’t agree this will come across as inauthentic and your team will pick up on it and it can cause distrust.

As you have done, I would recommend voicing your concerns privately up the line and getting the detail on the rationale. You can then explain to your team the reasons the decision has been made based on what you have been told in a matter of fact way without needing to suggest you agree with it.

She didn't mention having to advocate for reports.

She just doesn't want to do her job. Which is to implement management decisions. That's the job.

I am doing my job but if I don't agree with how they are going about it then surely I have a voice to say I dont agree with how this is being implemented.
I am still implementing the change and will have to go with it whether I like it or not.
I have no intentions of not following management instruction.

Many large companies have a process called something like 'disagree and commit' where managers are given the opportunity to clearly state that they disagree with a decision but that they recognise that they have to implement it anyway as if you wait for 20 or 30 managers to all agree on a way forward nothing would ever happen.

You can voice your disagreement with the higher ups but not really your own team. They'll already know you aren't happy but you do need to draw a line under it and explain that although this isn't what you/they may have expected that it's something everyone will have to get on board with it. Tell them you're there to support during the transition and you've let management know their feedback but that this is an opportunity for XYZ or whatever. You can't, as middle management, just voice to your team that you think something's been handled in a shit way.

Thank you. Good advice I will take this on boatd thank you.

You think all managers totally 100% agree with the higher up decisions?

That's why it is called management. You have to bloody manage things. Not just do the things you want.

Not sure you read my response!

You don’t agree with it. That’s fine. Can you understand why the decision has been made and can you think of ways to support your team to implement the change as painlessly as possible. Even if you don’t agree with it, try to find some good in it - think about what things will look like in 6-12 months once the change has happened. The Team Leader/first line manager job is tough, because you have a lot of responsibilities but few rights, but your job is to shepherd your team through tricky terrain, not demand different terrain.

I think you could get in writing the reasons why you disagree with the decision, but then offer mitigations about it.

and as for telling you team, be honest and upfront about it. I’m middle manager and my first priority is to keep team informed and let them know that I try to shield them as much as I can but that sometimes I just can’t because it is out of my hands.

I have said to my team, giving the gobby one a hard Paddington stare, "I hear what you say and understand your point of view, however, I have to look at the strategy in the round and we will be implementing this and I need the whole team on board. "This is not the hill to die on".

Worked for local government, so much of this went on. I tried at first to buck the system. It didn't end well the union had to get involved. After that I kept my head down for the maternity leave. I never went back.

It’s possible your manager just wants to check (and maybe even help) with how you can communicate this to your team
when you don’t agree with it. Here’s hoping

agree with others that there is a nuanced line here. You do have to find a way to represent the decision to your team that doesn’t undermine it and your own bosses

disagree and commit is a good mode for it

so “I don’t agree with the decision, and I have already raised concerns with Bosses about the impact this will have on our team. However, for now this is the decision and we need to get on with doing XYZ. Hopefully Good Thing will come out of this in the end”

I haven't acted unprofessionally but vented to her my disapproval. She always tells me I can vent to her so im not sure what she is referring to

You sound naiive op.

'Venting' to your manager is not a good look, ever. But ESPECIALLY as you're a line manager yourself and are expected to drive forward changes in your own team.

Your manager is absolutely correct and your team will pick up on your attitude towards this change and it's likely to reflect negatively on you.

I would think very carefully about how open you're being with management. Sometimes you just need to smile, nod and bite your tongue.

I think it helps to keep in mind that you may not have all of the information that the higher ups had when making the decision.
You also have to trust them to some extent and if you don’t think highly of them or trust their judgement generally then I suppose it might be worth considering if you are a good fit in that organisation.

if you generally trust and agree with decisions and it’s just this one area you are struggling with… I always think it’s fine (and good) to have that discussion with your manager- not to vent but to make your viewpoint heard, and to be clear about how it will impact on the team you are responsible for. Be clear and full in the discussion but then let it drop and show that you are working in line with the new direction set out.

I worked for a manager who never agreed with anything the company did - it was the most dysfunctional work environment - really toxic and my manager was really unprofessional bitching to us about it - like she wanted to be one of us. I was quite young at the time but if it happened now I'd be trying to get away from that manger as soon as possible.

Same here. It is really demoralising working for a line manager who is constantly negative about the institution. OP doesn't come across that way though.

This sort of situation is never easy, but with my group I try to:

Ask / know what level of detail different people want on decisions

Ask / know what worries individuals most - job security? Workloads? Career prospects?

With that context, explain decisions with the rationales senior management have offered.

Discuss reservations at group level in terms of how we deal with the issue as a group, report back any constructive suggestions or serious reservations not anticipated from the group to higher management.

Not assume or promote group think. I manage a few units. Often I'm not keen on an idea and one or two of these groups is. I've been surprised more than once. So I never come in first with how I feel about something because that actually doesn't matter very much to anyone.

And just keep it professional and as unemotional as possible - empower people to consider how they'll deal with changes as much as possible.

Not perfect, but I am really not a fan of either extreme of just agreeing it's rubbish and we have no choice, or pretending you're happy with everything.

Thanks all.
To give this more context they are making some structural changes where I now have to demote a key member of my team from a temporary position in order to take a less experienced, lesser skilled person from a disbanded department, but much higher paid into the role. This means completely retraining someone who also supports subordinates but who I also know will struggle with the role.
This will have a wider impact on my team as current set up is working extremely well.
I am unhappy with the decision however know i have no say in it so know I'll have to accept, put the brave face on and move the team through this change.
Some good feedback though and I will take the advice on board.