Healthy disagreement and competing ideas are vital for generating thriving workspaces and, according to Dr Sunny Lee, disagreeing well is a learnable skill rather than an innate trait.
UCL School of Management academic Dr Sunny Lee has recently been featured in an article, published as part of a partnership between the Independent and UCL’s Disagreeing Well programme, discussing why disagreement at work may be one of the most valuable skills for modern organisations.
Paul Clements’s article argues that many workplaces encourage people to be authentic while also expecting them to avoid conflict. This tension can lead to silence rather than meaningful challenge. Yet evidence increasingly shows that innovation depends on people being willing to speak up and question ideas.
Dr Lee highlights the critical role of psychological safety in making this healthy disagreement possible. Her research shows that people are far more likely to share dissenting views when they feel they will not be punished or judged for doing so.
Without that safety, organisations risk reinforcing conformity and limiting learning and innovation. Dr Lee said:
“The solution to herd mentality is not to blame younger generations, but to ask whether workplace conditions make conformity feel safer and more desirable than dissent.
“Research shows that psychological safety, the belief that one can speak honestly without being punished, fosters dissent, learning, and innovation.”
She also emphasises that disagreement is not something fixed or personality driven. Instead, it is a skill that can be developed. Drawing on her teaching and research, Dr Lee explains that with practice and the right environment people can learn to express disagreement clearly while also listening to others and turning tension into better outcomes.
