Characteristics of a healthy speaking up culture
In-order for teams to thrive, to innovate, an environment is needed within which knowledgeable, skilled, well-meaning people can contribute what they know, when it is needed to be known. This rarely happens in organisations where people are reluctant to stand out, be wrong, are fearful about consequences of sharing knowledge.
The research across sectors is that people are holding back far too often – reluctant to say or ask something that might somehow make them look bad, that might lead to negative consequences for them. Only when people feel that they can speak up without repercussion will they be open and honest and if an organisation wishes to be agile, to innovate, to learn and improve then people’s willingness to speak up and share knowledge is an essential organisational requirement.
What then are the key characteristics of an effective speaking up culture? How will we gain a sense of whether people feel safe and trust leadership and their colleagues enough to say what needs to be said, when it needs to be said?
I offer my own thoughts as someone who has worked as a Director, Head of L & D, Freedom to Speak Up Guardian and now as an Executive Coach and these thoughts have been further informed by the research and writing of Edmonson, C.A. (2019), Dascal, L. (2017), Coyle, D. (2018), Kline N. (2015), Reitz, M, and Higgins, J (2019) They are key thought leaders, and I would urge readers to explore their important work in this area further.
Conflicts of interest are acknowledged, reported, known, consistently well managed and resolved promptly and proactively even when it is hard to do so
People are not overly deferential to seniority/authority and do not hesitate to challenge a more senior person (with civility) if they feel that a decision or proposed course of action is ill advised or dangerous
People respond positively and non-defensively to challenge and disagreement
Leaders take (and make) time to listen, hear and understand. They feel confident and equipped to do that and role model reinforcing behaviours.
People are receptive to other’s ideas, views, and perspectives. A wide diversity of voices is sought and heard. There is a healthy climate of inclusion,
People disagree productively and entertain the possibility that they might just be wrong and so feel inclined to listen to others.
People trust and respect each other and feel able, even obligated, to speak up, to be candid with good intent but never to demean or diminish another person in doing so
People hold the belief (and have lived experience) of the environment being safe for interpersonal risk taking.
People take for granted that their voice is appreciated and there is an expectation that it will be valued and heard
Speaking up and listening up occurs at every level of the organisation, facilitating open and authentic communication that shines the light on problems, mistakes, and opportunities for improvement
Business outcomes improve because of an open learning environment which puts learning into practice to make things better for everyone
There is a culture of reflection and review to identify success, failure and mistakes which are shared openly with no allocation of blame – the focus is on continual improvement.
So, now that we have started to identify what might characterise a healthy and effective speaking up culture how might an organisation go about achieving it and measuring it?
I will explore that in my next article.
This is just a summary that hopefully stimulates some thinking in this area. If you wish to discuss it further or could do with some help considering your next steps, then do get in touch. steve@thecompassionateleadership.company