You manage complex people in a complex organization to do complex things. Invariably something is going to go wrong. Invariably the things that goes wrong is going to be because you made a bad decision. Invariably some of the time someone else knows it’s a bad decision from the start. The only question is when you will discover that it was a bad decision. Before you even commit to it? Or after the damage is done?

If the people on your team aren’t telling you things you don’t want to hear, it could mean that things are perfect and you’re perfect. It’s an incredible universe, and many things are possible. But what’s likely?

What’s more likely is that people aren’t telling you what you need to hear. They may be afraid of consequences. It may be a less punitive and more subtle inhibition, which is that they think it will be a hassle or futile. Either way, you’re not hearing the bad news when you should.

A sanity check is to pay attention to how often people question your decisions, disagree with you, and tell you you’re wrong. I don’t know how often is the right amount, but I have a few of these every week with each of my reports. It happens with important things and with minor things. I don’t know if they’re telling me about all the times they disagree with me, but they do it often enough that I’m confident they won’t let me make a major mistake. That’s not perfect, but it’s pretty good.

Of course, if you’re following my advice, you’re asking your reports, “how am I doing?” And then you find out without having to infer it. Odds are pretty good you’re not doing that, though, because it’s awkward and uncomfortable. Paying attention to the bad news will at least get you part of the way there.