Business: Right vs. Wrong

Ok, some advice to all those managers out there. Being right is not always best. Let's just say you are more intelligent and/or more knowledgeable than those beneath you. And let's also assume that your employee has come up with an idea that you can immediately discredit because there is a better way to do it.

Stop.

Don't say anything right away. This is where your superior intelligence comes in. By knocking down your employee's idea you are potentially causing more damage than would be offset by the benefit of your better approach. An employee who consistently has their ideas batted down because they are not as quick on their feet as you will slowly lose the motivation and courage to come up with new ideas and will rely on you more and more often to come up with ideas. This is not a good situation.

Moreover, you might be wrong. Just because the employee was not able to defend their idea does not mean it can't be defended.

Just think about it.