Assigned dissent can reveal risks, but genuine disagreement changes how a team thinks. Steven Morris explores how pre-mortems, red teams, and Devil’s Advocate exercises create temporary cover for candour—and why the real test begins when someone speaks in their own voice.
In today’s episode, I explore the difference between assigned opposition and genuine dissent.
For centuries, leaders have created formal roles and exercises designed to challenge accepted thinking. Red teams, pre-mortems, and competitor role-playing can help a team notice risks that ordinary planning conversations often miss.
Their deeper value, however, may be the temporary cover they provide. When people are invited to speak as a competitor or imagine that failure has already happened, they can name concerns that may otherwise feel too costly to raise.
The challenge is what happens when the exercise ends. A concern can surface clearly in the room and still be quietly filed away as part of a useful workshop rather than treated as a real organisational problem.
What a leader does next matters. Defensiveness teaches people to soften future concerns. Curiosity, honest questions, and a willingness to change course show that disagreement can be used rather than merely tolerated.
Join me as I explore:
✅ Why authentic dissent has a different effect from assigned opposition
✅ How pre-mortems and red teams create temporary cover for candour
✅ Why independent thinking should happen before the most powerful voices speak
✅ What leaders communicate through their response to uncomfortable concerns
✅ How disagreement can become a practical organisational advantage
Key Takeaways:
🔑 Assigned exercises can expose concerns, but they do not guarantee those concerns will be addressed
🔑 People are more likely to speak honestly when the personal risk is temporarily reduced
🔑 Senior and confident voices should speak last, not first
🔑 The leader’s response determines whether candour grows or disappears
🔑 A useful opponent is often someone deeply committed to improving the outcome
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