This Ted Talk is about the power to disagree. Many people are scared to openly disagree and are scared of conflict. However, Heffernan talks about how this aversion is causing more harm than good. To give an example, Heffernan discusses a researcher who had a partner. This partner’s job was to try and disprove and argue everything that the other researcher found and concluded. This forced the researcher to defend her research and also to (1) notice the weaknesses associated with the research and (2) try and find a way to rebut the partner’s disagreements. This strategy ultimately made their combined research incredibly valuable, while also making both researchers more knowledgeable.

The most interesting part of this talk was that the researcher described above were doing research on epidemiology and all of the specific research  and evidence that they used to arrive at their conclusions was widely accessible. But, no one was disagreeing with the data. No one was pointing out the weaknesses and arguing for a new strategy. This complacency does not advance knowledge or create change. By avoiding conflict and disagreement, we are actually preventing  progression.

This “silence” can be incredibly detrimental for leadership. For example, what if a co-pilot notices that something is wrong with a plane but the pilot does not. What if the co pilot, who wants to steer clear of conflict, says nothing? Additionally, what if the president or Congress wants to pass a bill or resolution that could be harmful? In both of these examples, if we do not disagree and look at the cons, the consequences and effects can be damaging, all because we were submissive to leadership. Furthermore, do we even want a leader that can not engage in conflict or be open to the conversations that arise from disagreement? Or, do we want a leader who can not challenge ideas to ultimately produce the best possible outcome? After listening to this Ted talk, I know that I want a leader who will understand and engage with both the pro and con of an idea, proposal, or whatever the situation may be because without disagreement and conflict, we really can not progress or enhance knowledge.