The writings of the great thinker A.M. Yankovic contain many gems, but it’s hard to rival this teamwork secret: “Everything you know is wrong. Black is white, up is down, and short is long.”

Okay, so “A.M.” is really “Weird Al”…but he’s onto something! People tend to assume that their ideas are worthwhile and that they’re generally doing a decent job. But tonight, another singer—one far less famed than Mr. Yankovic—will highlight the fallacy of this assumption.

This instructor offers the wisdom that only a tone-deaf singer on American Idol’s season premiere can provide. He will wail about, embarrassing himself in front of a captive nation. If we’re lucky, there will be many of them.

We can’t help but laugh (then feel guilty about laughing) and wonder…“Why didn’t anyone ever tell that guy he can’t sing?!” I often imagine the conversations he has with his friendly audiences back home. After singing for his friends or family, he asks, “How was I?” They respond, “You were… ummm…GREAT!” Or maybe they couch their feedback very carefully, in such a positive way that the singer doesn’t quite understand the real intended meaning. Or maybe his audience lovingly provides constructive feedback that he obstinately refuses to hear.

This imaginary chat is not so distinct from conversations occurring inside organizations. A leader will unveil some grand idea and ask, “So what do you think?” at the meeting. It’s extremely unlikely that an underling will step up and publicly say, “Mr. Leader, I think this is a terrible idea. I believe the masses will wholly reject it, damaging our reputation.”

When it’s the boss standing up, and everyone’s watching, you just can’t go there. What a shame. Perhaps there’s a fearfully-withheld comment behind every idea-flop, from New Coke to the shower belt.

It’s often necessary for leaders to demonstrate to get the truth. Some ideas:

• Admit that you’re wrong. It happens all the time, so just embrace it. Try it past (“I was wrong”), present (“We might need to make some course corrections), or future (“Let’s keep an eye on this in case it blows up in our faces”), or in general (“I’m often wrong”). Try alone at first. Say it aloud. It’s therapeutic—and others will feel more comfortable telling you what’s up.
• Highlight particular areas that need development. No plans emerge fully-baked. Mention what parts still need to be thought through.
• Implement good systems for collecting and using feedback. Try anonymity or other solutions to bring forth the group wisdom.
• Have someone less senior collect the feedback. This way, nobody’s scared that they’re upsetting the almighty leader.

Hopefully Weird Al’s perspective, combined with these tips, will prevent an epic failure or two—but not before we hear another entertaining round of terrible Idol auditions. Enjoy…

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