Why They Won’t “Speak Up” and 5 Behaviours to Increase the Chance That They Will

“We want to put a stop to all transgressive behaviour. But people aren’t speaking up! We hear about issues through backchannels, we see the engagement survey results, so we know there are issues. We need to create a speak-up culture where these behaviours can be dealt with immediately between employees or at the manager level. We’re thinking something along the lines of building Radical Candor skills or running feedback workshops. Can you help?”

I pause for a moment, because it isn’t the first time I’ve heard a version of this story.

“What happens,” I ask, “when someone does bring a problem to their manager?” What I’m interested in when I ask that question is: Is it a rewarding experience (I feel understood, I’ll do that again), or do they feel punished (Talk about shooting the messenger! Why was I the one on trial, I’m never doing that again!).

The answer to my question is usually a mix of “It depends,” “We don’t know,” and “Most of them probably wouldn’t know how to respond well to a disclosure.”

Sometimes, it’s about fixing what happens at the receiving end before we work on the “speak-up” end. I like to think I have the skills and confidence to speak up—meaning, if you were to assess me in isolation. But speaking up never happens in isolation, and there are many environments in which I may choose not to speak up because I can read the implicit rules and can tell that in this climate, it isn’t going to end well for me.

Selfish? Well, self-protecting—it’s our default. As is loving immediacy and certainty. If I don’t say anything, I know for sure you’re not going to disapprove of what I say and make me feel terrible in this moment. If I do speak up, then maybe somewhere down the line, there’ll be a positive payoff. We choose immediate certainty over uncertain, longer-term outcomes. In psychological terms, we “discount the future.”

Because silence is the default, we need to actively work against it to increase the chances that people will make themselves heard. This is what we mean when we talk about creating psychological safety; improving the odds that you’ll hear from people. One of the ways to do this is to work on how managers and leaders respond when someone brings an issue to them. These are key moments that set the culture. In those moments, remember to:

1. Respond positively – “Thank you for bringing this to me.”
2. Listen thoughtfully.
3. If someone is sharing a failure or mistake, destigmatise it where you can.
4. Offer support.
5. Act swiftly against any transgressive behaviour.

Practicing these five things is one of the ways to increase the chance that people will speak up again. If you’re curious about other ways to approach this or want to know how we could help you, get in touch!