If you’re the boss, you don’t necessarily want to hear the word “no.” If you have an issue or concern with a boss’s ideas, it’s not easy or may not be welcome to disagree. So is saying “no” taboo in the workplace? Not if you want innovation, productivity, and success.

F. John Reh (About.com) addresses the issue of creating a culture of where it’s okay to speak up, and where being a valued employee does not mean always agreeing with the boss. He suggests that it starts at the top—company culture should allow discussion and debate. The willingness to hear new ideas and to challenge ideas gets people thinking. The opposite, an environment where people are not encouraged or afraid to speak up, leads to stagnation and apathy.

But every company policy or boss’s directive does not mean open season or a free-for-all on the debate floor. Communication that allows debate requires professionalism on both sides. The key is in finding appropriate ways to discuss ideas and suggest alternatives. He states, “It is our responsibility to our bosses to be honest with them, to tell them what we really think, even if we disagree…Be professional about it, but be candid too.” The key to saying no to the boss, “disagree without being disagreeable.”

Read the full text at: Saying No to the Boss, From F. John Reh About.com