Some organizations stop advancing due to the owner (inadvertently or not) thinking that they alone know what is best for their business. They don’t acknowledge the input/ ideas/ contributions of others, and typically are quite change-resistant. I have seen the consequences of employees choosing not to speak their minds (give their honest opinions) to their employer. In these cases the businesses concerned had become semi-dysfunctional and the employees had become disenfranchised from the business (basically simply doing as they were told, not thinking for themselves and refraining from offering any constructive ideas for the owner to consider).
Leaders (business owners and managers) need to learn how to encourage and accommodate the viewpoints of others who they work with (notice that I purposely used the phrase “…work with” and didn’t instead use an expression such as “…who work for them”), to breed a culture which is underpinned by desirable principles such as inclusivity. Leaders must encourage the honest viewpoints of others who they work with – there is no point receiving input/ feedback from team members which is contrived (e.g. designed to support the known position of the leader). I would much rather have my viewpoint challenged (ideally also substantiated with evidence) by another perspective (conflicting or not) – which may in fact have greater validity than my own perspective when all is said and done; than have my team nod their heads graciously at my direction/ perspectives simply because they think that by doing so will keep them in my “good books”.
Leaders of progressive organizations remain open/ receptive to views which challenge the status quo of their business. This is how fertile ground for positive change is discovered.