Agrees in the room, resists later
Nods through the strategy meeting, then the implementation stalls, and you hear through others that they never agreed.
Rule out first
A real disagreement they had no safe way to raise. Ambiguous decisions. Overload: they meant yes, but can't do it.
What could explain it
Psychological safety: Many people do it, not just this one, and dissent shows up only in private channels.
Passive aggression: Resistance carries hostility: missed deadlines with plausible excuses, 'forgetting' your priorities.
Enneagram Type 9: Peacemaker: They avoid conflict to keep peace and don't resent you; they drift back to their own way without malice.
Defensive routines (Argyris): The organisation has a habit of not discussing what can't be discussed, and everyone knows it.
Subjugation schema: Saying no feels dangerous; resentment builds and leaks out later.
Spite and the underground man (Dostoevsky): The resistance costs them too and they seem to know it; the injury is being told what to do. 'I'd rather it fail than do it his way.'
A next move
Ask for disagreement explicitly, privately, before the decision, and reward the first one you get. Then watch whether resistance moves into the room.
If it’s you
Did I say yes because I agreed, or because no felt impossible?