"People can "win" internal fights in those boardrooms by arguing for the ideas and perspectives that the boss already loves. So "fighting for the best idea" becomes a public way to endorse and validate the emperor's—er, boss's—opinions."
"While some people might respond well to ripping apart their colleague's ideas in a meeting, this is usually not the best way to bring out the best in people. Most will feel psychologically unsafe, which means they will hold back their ideas and questions."
"Fights in boardrooms mean people won't lean on each other; they won't work together. So your business performance suffers. Because in the end, we're talking about humans, not rocks, right?"
The Gladiator Strategy describes a workplace approach where leaders encourage competitive "battles of ideas" to determine the best solutions. However, this method mirrors Roman gladiatorial contests where success depended on entertaining the emperor rather than merit. In modern workplaces, employees win these internal fights by advocating ideas the boss already favors, not by presenting objectively superior solutions. While some individuals may thrive under pressure, most experience psychological unsafety, causing them to withhold ideas and questions. This adversarial environment prevents genuine collaboration and mutual support among colleagues. Consequently, business performance suffers because human psychology differs fundamentally from inanimate objects—people require psychological safety to contribute their best thinking and work effectively together.
#workplace-culture #psychological-safety #innovation-and-collaboration #leadership-strategy #organizational-performance
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