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Had a manager who emphasized the mantra for our team. “Strong opinions, loosely held”. Over time I’ve come to appreciate this more and more. The “loosely held”

Had a manager who emphasized the mantra for our team. “Strong opinions, loosely held”. Over time I’ve come to appreciate this more and more. The “loosely held” portion is important for allowing respectful differences of opinion and building a team together. But the “strong opinions” portion is equally important. You should be opinionated and understand why you hold those opinions and be able to defend them. But also learn to hear dissenting viewpoints and value them too.

jacklar 4y ago
This right here. Be strongly opinionated, but be comfortable with updating that opinion once you have new information. Updating is the hard skill to master. You have to be willing to separate ego from ideas and thoughts and be okay saying I was wrong or my idea/thoughts are no longer valid / the most accurate with this new information. You also have to be willing to be curious and open to new information and counter points that will invalidate or weaken your opinion. Be opinionated, debate like hell, but once new information is available be willing and okay with changing and updating your view if it makes sense.
Prcmaker 4y ago
Very much this. I will have deep opinions, based in as much fact as is available. If new facts are available, I do my best to constantly re-evaluate what those opinions are.
cheschire 4y ago
An important aspect of the "strong opinion" for me has been taking the time to do some self analysis and, as you said, understand why I hold that opinion. Many of the issues I've seen in team engagements come from folks not being willing to dig deeper on their own feelings in an open setting. They end up passively resenting the path the team takes because their opinions are still very much a subconscious thing with poorly defined edges.
- kennxfl 4y ago
  In a non-tech context, majority of people get very emotional about held beliefs or ideas based on their stories and personal truth. A challenge to these beliefs, even indirectly, is generally perceived as an attack on the individual. Listening to opinions diametrically opposite to your own without harboring any resentment takes a lot of mental training.

jacklar 4y ago

This right here. Be strongly opinionated, but be comfortable with updating that opinion once you have new information. Updating is the hard skill to master. You have to be willing to separate ego from ideas and thoughts and be okay saying I was wrong or my idea/thoughts are no longer valid / the most accurate with this new information. You also have to be willing to be curious and open to new information and counter points that will invalidate or weaken your opinion. Be opinionated, debate like hell, but once new information is available be willing and okay with changing and updating your view if it makes sense.

Prcmaker 4y ago

Very much this. I will have deep opinions, based in as much fact as is available. If new facts are available, I do my best to constantly re-evaluate what those opinions are.

cheschire 4y ago

An important aspect of the "strong opinion" for me has been taking the time to do some self analysis and, as you said, understand why I hold that opinion. Many of the issues I've seen in team engagements come from folks not being willing to dig deeper on their own feelings in an open setting. They end up passively resenting the path the team takes because their opinions are still very much a subconscious thing with poorly defined edges.

kennxfl 4y ago
In a non-tech context, majority of people get very emotional about held beliefs or ideas based on their stories and personal truth. A challenge to these beliefs, even indirectly, is generally perceived as an attack on the individual. Listening to opinions diametrically opposite to your own without harboring any resentment takes a lot of mental training.