Don’t take ownership over tasks you don’t agree with

Given that I strive for high quality, competence and standards of professional conduct in my work ¹, one of the guiding principles I’ve adopted for myself is that I don’t take ownership over tasks or projects that I don’t buy into.

While it can be frustrating to find your request being challenged when you’re just “trying to get stuff done”, I believe that quietly agreeing to something you disagree with would only lead to worse outcomes instead.

For example, something that you don’t buy into is unlikely to inspire confidence or enthusiasm. This in turn is likely to lead to lower engagement, a lack of critical thinking about the task and a lower level of quality in the final delivery.

It can also be awkward to have to defend work to others which you actually disagree with. Your arguments will be less passionate, may appear less authentic, and having your name directly associated with such work may also come back to cause further negative consequences for you later down the line.

Note however that there is a time and place for everything. As a rule of thumb, don’t challenge a decision after the fact if you were previously asked for input but you chose to stay quiet. Don’t challenge an established procedure in the middle of a crisis situation. And remember not every battle is worth fighting - save your energy for the ones that matter.