Speaking up remains a risky proposition despite companies’ efforts in encouraging this value. Hence, before trying to solve for this, we need to understand what stops employees from speaking up.
More than a decade ago, I was an entry level excited employee who desired to be a change agent. In one of the meetings, in the presence of the general manager, I mentioned a challenge we were facing as a team with the intent of brainstorming towards a potential solution. I said “we are doing good compared to the competition. However, what is that one thing that will increase the gap versus competitors and position us as a leader by far?”
The man had to step out to take a phone call. At that moment, every individual in the room turned to me and gave me a look I would never forget. They all reprimanded me for speaking up mentioning that he would think I was being negative. My heart started racing. I was too new and I hadn’t proven myself yet. Here I was, painting a bad personal image with one intervention. He walks back in and replies to my comment with a statement that made me feel even worse.
Looking back today, I know that my concern made perfect sense. I was trying to spark a constructive business discussion to benefit the department. However, that was the company culture. And everyone knew it except me.
This type of incidents represents one of the reasons employees might be reluctant to speak up. So I asked people in my circle a simple question: “What would stop you from speaking up?” Based on this, I came up with 9 reasons employees refrain from being vocal.
Negative impact on their personal image
“Speaking up could impact my image. Leaders tend to build a negative perception about people who speak up.”
This answer was recurrent in many of the conversations I had. In fact, we have all witnessed instances when a colleague voiced out their opinion and got frowned upon by a leader. We have all overheard corridor talks about that same colleague after the meeting, critiques about their way of speaking or judgements on their views. These reactions make it harder for any of us to repeat the behavior by fear of suffering the same consequences.
Fear of retaliation
“I’m concerned about the reaction of the other person. Will they accept it or become defensive?”
One of the biggest reasons people don’t voice their views is because they fear being punished for them. This may take the form of an unfair performance review, being passed over for a promotion, excessive micromanagement, being denied certain opportunities, leading even to potential demotion or termination. All of those can be easily rationalized by an “attitude problem”.
Risk versus benefit equation
“Nothing changes when we speak up. So why bother?”
The only reason a person might voice their opinion is their desire to create a change; whether in the culture, the business or their work conditions. And as I mentioned in the first sentence, speaking up is a risky proposition. So imagine taking this risk to achieve absolutely nothing! Would you do it? I know I wouldn’t.
The “politically correct” immediate response
“They always have a corporate answer to my concern. I can tell it from now.”
I score extremely high on speak up in every 360 feedback. Yet, this is something that has come to my mind at times. I could think up multiple “politically correct” replies I might receive should I decide to speak up about a concern. This might be applicable to promotions. Should you dare to ask about the results of an assessment, there are millions of answers you could receive which you will not be able to contest, even if deep down you know it’s not the truth.
The hear-say effect
“I worry that my opinion will not be transmitted correctly. So it really depends on the authenticity of the person I’m speaking up to.”
We don’t always get the chance to speak up to the highest authority in the company. Therefore, some employees are concerned that when the message is transmitted upwards, it might distort the intention or meaning.
The challenging conversation
“I get challenged every time I voice my opinion”
It takes a lot of courage to be vocal. And what people need in this moment is empathy and understanding. Being challenged immediately after speaking up can make it even more difficult on the employee. This can also lead them to think thrice before placing themselves in this position again.
Absence of the speak up muscle
“I don’t know how to accurately express what’s on my mind. So I might as well not do it.”
Speaking up is an art. Being able to balance concern, positive attitude and confidence is not a simple task. Hence, we cannot expect employees to master this skill without training them on it or at least leading by example.
Conflicting priorities
“I’m not sure they will see the importance of what I’m saying. Hence, they might just disregard it.”
Every one of us gives a different weight to things depending on our roles, experience, background, etc. So, what one thinks might be crucial to their success might not seem important to another. This diversity of perspective may hinder some from being vocal.
Level of interest of the company
“No one asked. They probably don’t care.”
I believe it’s amazing to mention speaking up as a core value of the company. However, doing so without creating a culture that fosters this value is not enough. Employees need to feel that their views are welcome.
I am certain, there are even more reasons preventing employees from voicing out their views. Yet, with the basics being covered, we are now ready to venture into creating a speak up culture. Expect an upcoming blog post soon!