I have witnessed many individuals throughout my working years who always needed to be right. And it came with a cost. Sometimes these were other project managers, project team members, including engineers and executives, and other non-project staff.
The cost was intrusive and insidious to the whole organization. Mistrust, tension, arguments, projects that went nowhere, and projects that went in the absolutely wrong direction cost the project team, the company, the customers – basically everyone – time, quality, money, and success. It was overwhelming at times and very depressing, as I am someone who cares about the organizations I work with and for.
Sometimes I really think I am right, but then I realize either no one is agreeing with me or everyone is completely doing something else than what I think should be done. Here are some useful tips when evaluating your need to be right:
- Push back only once.
- Use curiosity in place of judgment.
- Don’t tell stories to increase the strength of your opinion.
- Ask how important it is to win.
References:
The Fight to be Right | Psychology Today. (n.d.). Retrieved December 17, 2025, from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/how-to-do-life/201409/the-fight-to-be-right
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