Why People Don't Speak up and How to Change That

Change is like engineering a plane as it flies. “We need to fly but change the wings. Will it still be a plane? Will we land in water and need a ship? I can fly a plane, but sail a ship?” my podcast guest, Renée, explains. As a leader, you want to show people that you care, be there to support, speak with people, and build trust so everyone transforms the plane. But how can you build trust, and show people you care if no one speaks up when you are giving them the chance to?

If you want people to speak up, you need to be worthy of their trust. At Baloise, Renée helped the leadership team realize they needed to step into their power to build trust. As she describes what it takes for leaders to step into their power, I am reminded of servant leadership.

Robert K. Greenleaf describes a “servant-leader” in his essay “The Servant as Leader,” as a servant first, which differs from "leader first". The servant-leader prioritizes service to their people. In his book Leadership: Theory and Practice, Peter G. Northouse describes 10 characteristics of servant leadership: listening, empathy, healing, awareness, persuasion, conceptualization, foresight, stewardship, and commitment to the growth of people and the building of community.

At Baloise, leaders stepped into their power to serve their people by empathizing and realizing they had a head start. “Unlike the rest of the organization, they already felt the future, played with it, and understood in which direction to go,” Renée says. They needed to close that gap by enthusing people with their vision and address any fears that that vision may provoke.

A common scenario I observe during change happens with Q&A sessions that aim to inform people on the vision and address open questions: The scripted questions are answered preemptively, and they are usually followed by an awkward silence. People rarely speak up. They may have questions, but they aren’t voicing them. Why?

Trust Is Earned 

Speak up culture and trust is earned. Leaders earn trust by giving people closeness, support, and psychological safety. Because you’re asking people to fly while engineering new wings —to risk manoeuvres that may develop into layoffs, for example—and people need to see you, sense your presence, and feel that you’re there for them, Renée stresses. Early communication via Q&A sessions for regular face time is a great first step to connect with people and inform them about the change, but leaders need to go a step further.

Show up Consistently and Build Psychological Safety

Consistency in presence is one way to build trust. The other is consistency in word combined with vulnerability. Leaders create a psychologically safe space that enables people to speak up by admitting for example that they don’t have all the answers related to a change. This shows people that it’s safe to express their own worries and concerns. “Our leaders were honest about what they didn’t know, and they would share what they were working on. Process transparency goes a long way and helps people to understand,” Renée says. And if people aren’t asking the tough questions, ask them yourself. “Leaders may have to answer the same questions 100x times. Keep answering them. People search for consistency. Give it to them.” Renée says.

A steady communications drumbeat provides the security that people yearn for during change. Leaders are role models who take the first step in showing vulnerability which helps to build psychological safety and have constructive dialogue. This helps people to trust their leaders and follow them.

And remember, even the strongest among us will feel the taxing effects of leading an organization through change, Renée says. You can show up for people only if you’re showing up for yourself. Fill your cup with what energizes you—take time to yourself, rest, go for a walk, and show up again the next day. Trust is built piece by piece, moment by moment.

-Helena

Renée is an award-winning communications professional with international corporate and NGO experiences. “Doing good” is her compass. She’s also a change management lecturer with a fire that burns for growing herself and the organization that she works for. Her emotional intelligence and ability to see what people needs from leadership is inspiring. Tune into our conversation on episode #17 here: Spotify, Simplecast, or Applepodcasts .

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