The morning sun bounced off the building’s glass exterior as the day began in Southern California at the western division headquarters. Samantha, the Director of Customer Engagement, took a sip of her first coffee and settled in at her desk. As she scrolled through her inbox, deleting spam, scanning responses from yesterday's exchanges, and double-checking the day’s meeting schedule, she thought, “I’ve got to start adjusting my back-to-backs to 50 minutes. I need some breathing room. Whatever we’re discussing for an hour, we can accomplish in 50 minutes, right?”
As she reached the end of the day’s new messages, she noticed an ‘Urgent!’ email received at 4:00 a.m. PST from Chloe, the Executive Vice President of her division:
Hey Samantha, great job on the CRM upgrade! You really delivered for us! You brought the new team together and managed vendor interactions, and the go-live was as smooth as we could have hoped for. As implementation ramps up and the rollout begins at the New York and Florida offices, Mark will lead the effort and reach out to you for support. I know he will need your and the team’s expertise, and the transition needs to be seamless, obviously!
Great news! Yesterday, at the Executive Leadership Council, the CRM win was on the agenda, along with a new opportunity raised by the CIO. I’m excited to share that you have been shortlisted to lead a new optimization initiative addressing efficiency issues affecting our teams in Berlin and London. Since Europe is a key growth market and a priority, we need your leadership on the project. Are you in?
That was the moment Samantha made an unfortunate choice as she typed an unqualified Y…E…S!
Not Leading with an Unqualified Yes
We’ve all experienced it- responding with enthusiasm and a can-do spirit without fully evaluating the cost, context, or capacity. But what if we viewed these moments as opportunities to practice intelligent disobedience?
Responding with an unqualified “yes” can create more risk than reward. Although it may appear collaborative at the moment, it can ultimately lead to misalignment and overcommitment. Instead, pursuing focused dialogue to thoughtfully assess the situation can serve as a powerful leadership tool.
Building a Culture Where 'No' Is Not a Threat
Evolving the phrases ‘no’ and ‘not yet’ into both an organizational value and a personal capability involves engaging in a rational exchange of ideas by asking the right questions at the right time.
In high-trust cultures, leadership encourages the team to analyze and share recommendations without fear, fostering collaboration within a trusted relationship.
This is an example of intelligent disobedience in action. It’s not resistance for resistance's sake; instead, it’s a productive disruption of a reactionary response to protect what matters most: focus, clarity, and quality execution the first time.
Turning Thoughtful Resistance into a Strength
Are you prepared to enhance your personal and organizational ability to practice intelligent disobedience?
Download Kapur’s Intelligent Disobedience Tool, a practical resource designed to help you engage in the proper conversation at the right time. Whether you're managing competing priorities, resisting unrealistic timelines, or aligning on strategic focus, this tool offers the framework to make more informed commitments.
Sometimes, saying “no” isn’t resistance; it is responsible.
