Speak-Up Culture by Stephen Shedletzky Empowers Authentic Communication to Transform Workplace Dynamics

When Leaders Truly Listen, People Step Up. In his groundbreaking book, “Speak-Up Culture,” Stephen Shedletzky fearlessly tackles the power of authentic communication in transforming workplace dynamics. This compelling guide offers invaluable insights into cultivating a thriving environment where every voice is heard and valued.

Discover the secrets to unlocking your organization’s true potential by diving into the transformative pages of “Speak-Up Culture.” Embrace the power of authentic communication and witness the remarkable shift in your workplace culture.

Genres

Leadership, Communication, Organizational Culture, Employee Engagement, Psychology, Business Management, Self-Help, Personal Development, Workplace Dynamics, Human Resources

“Speak-Up Culture” by Stephen Shedletzky is a powerful exploration of the importance of fostering an environment where open and honest communication thrives. The book delves into the key elements necessary for creating a speak-up culture, including trust, psychological safety, and leadership support.

Shedletzky provides practical strategies and real-world examples to help organizations overcome barriers to authentic communication, such as fear of retribution and hierarchical structures. He emphasizes the significance of empowering employees at all levels to voice their ideas, concerns, and feedback, ultimately leading to increased innovation, employee engagement, and organizational success.

The book also addresses the role of leaders in modeling vulnerability and actively listening to their team members. Shedletzky’s insights challenge traditional workplace norms and offer a roadmap for building a culture of transparency, collaboration, and continuous improvement.

Review

Stephen Shedletzky’s “Speak-Up Culture” is a must-read for anyone seeking to revolutionize their organization’s communication dynamics. The book’s clear and engaging writing style makes complex concepts accessible to readers from diverse backgrounds.

Shedletzky’s extensive experience as a leadership consultant shines through, as he provides actionable strategies backed by research and real-world case studies. The author’s passion for creating psychologically safe environments is evident throughout the book, making it an inspiring and thought-provoking read.

While some readers may find certain sections slightly repetitive, the overall message remains impactful. “Speak-Up Culture” is a valuable resource for leaders, managers, and employees alike, offering a framework for fostering authentic communication and unlocking the untapped potential within their organizations. Shedletzky’s work is a catalyst for positive change, empowering individuals to find their voice and contribute to a more inclusive, innovative, and successful workplace culture.

Recommendation

In 2018 and 2019, two Boeing airplanes crashed after takeoff, killing everyone on board both flights. Stephen Shedletzky explains how Boeing could have prevented those fatalities by developing a culture where employees felt safe speaking up about their concerns. Shedletzky outlines how to build such a culture by selecting and supporting the best leaders, and how to scale up by attracting and retaining the right people. Whether helping avoid tragedy or boosting productivity, Shedletzky shows how speak-up cultures and the leaders who nurture them make the world a better place.

Take-Aways

• In speak-up cultures, employees feel sharing ideas and concerns with leadership is safe and worthwhile.
• Speak-up cultures are good for business and society.
• Fear and apathy prevent speak-up cultures from developing.
• Leaders need to understand themselves and treat others as they want to be treated.
• Choose leaders who score high in terms of trust and performance.
• Tailor your appreciation to fit team member preferences and help develop more leaders.
• Understand how speak-up cultures function and scale.
• Encourage and reward behaviors that enable a speak-up culture.
• Offer and receive feedback to help everyone grow.

Summary

In speak-up cultures, employees feel sharing ideas and concerns with leadership is safe and worthwhile.

Speak-up cultures are psychologically safe environments in which people feel sufficiently supported to take interpersonal risks, such as voicing concerns or admitting mistakes. In such an environment, when employees raise an issue or suggest an idea, management takes them seriously.

Speak-up cultures are good for business and society.

According to the Center for Talent Innovation, having a speak-up culture improves a company’s efficiency, trims costs, and boosts their likelihood of capturing new markets and more significant market share by 70% and 45%, respectively. This cross-cultural finding applies to speak-up cultures in Brazil, Hong Kong, Turkey, China, Russia, India, Japan, Singapore, South Africa, the UK, and the United States.

“When people feel cared for, they are more likely to extend that care to others.”

The cost of not fostering a speak-up culture is steep. In studies by Harvard Business School, professor Amy C. Edmondson found that staff at psychologically unsafe hospitals reported fewer errors yet made more errors than the staff of psychologically safe hospitals because the staff didn’t feel sufficiently secure admitting mistakes. They concealed errors, and patient outcomes worsened.

Psychologically unsafe conditions at Boeing led to preventable deaths. In 2016, market demand for Boeing’s 737 MAX aircraft grew, causing enormous pressure at Boeing’s manufacturing plants. An exhausted and stressed workforce coping with production backlogs and shortages of legally required testing equipment raised concerns about inadequate safety measures, but upper management ignored them. In October 2018, a Boeing 737 MAX crashed and killed 189 passengers shortly after takeoff in Indonesia. In March 2019, another Boeing 737 MAX crashed and killed 157 people in Ethiopia.

Fear and apathy prevent speak-up cultures from developing.

When team members feel speaking up could risk their jobs or reputations, they keep silent. Fear-based silence is common in business cultures that encourage, reward or tacitly tolerate gaslighting and “toxic positivity.” Gaslighting involves manipulating, scapegoating, telling lies or coercing someone into questioning reality. For example, suppose an employee points out an issue. In that case, leadership might try to manipulate that person into believing they are the problem instead of dealing with the issue the employee raised. Toxic positivity is a blind positivity that avoids admitting anything “negative,” such as sadness about layoffs.

“In a speak-up culture, people feel it is both safe and worth it to share ideas, concerns, disagreements and mistakes.”

Apathy occurs when people feel the consequences of speaking up aren’t worthwhile. Raising concerns might be safe, but if doing so results in no positive change, people won’t bother. Apathy is bad for business. In addition to diminishing innovation and weakening loyalty, it leads to disengaged employees, which results in an estimated loss of $7.8 trillion in global annual productivity.

Leaders need to understand themselves and treat others as they want to be treated.

Leading differs from driving. Drivers view organizations as mechanical systems with interchangeable parts. They regard their role as pushing those parts around. Leaders view organizations as living systems. They understand their role is to inspire those they lead.

Before you can lead others, you need to learn to lead yourself. That starts with self-awareness – understanding your strengths and limits, with a particular focus on your skills and attributes. If you don’t possess them already, you can learn skills that help you perform better, such as active listening. While the right skills are essential, the best leaders match those skills with the robust development of five attributes: “empathy” – understanding others’ feelings; “selflessness” – acting for others’ benefit; “authenticity” – living your values; “decisiveness” – choosing and taking action promptly; and “accountability” – owning your decisions and any related consequences. As knowledge of your strengths and limits deepens, you begin to close your “say-do gap”: What you say and what you do align, inspiring others.

“Leadership is not about status or title…Leadership is in our behavior. To lead is a verb.”

Leaders consider what others need. Instead of deferring to the Golden Rule – treating others as you’d like to be treated – apply the Platinum Rule – “treat others as they like to be treated.” Ask your people what they need to feel the company supports them. For example, when new people join your team, explain how you like to lead and work with your employees. Then, ask your new hires how they prefer working with management. For each team member, develop a profile for how that person likes to communicate. Share those profiles with the team to better plan events and meetings.

Choose leaders who score high in terms of trust and performance.

Your relationship with your boss affects your health as much as your relationship with your spouse. Given that, how can organizations choose the right leaders? The US Navy SEALs use a “Trust-Performance Matrix” to evaluate candidates. Ideally, you want high-trust and high-performance people in charge. If you cannot find someone who excels in both categories, seek a high-trust candidate with medium performance rather than a low-trust candidate with high performance. The former excels during times of uncertainty, while the latter falls apart.

“Typically, the wisest choice is the lesser-qualified candidate who will be a more beneficial addition to the team.”

In addition to evaluating potential leaders for trust and performance, interview for attributes. Consider which attributes the job requires, and find spontaneous ways to test those attributes. For example, if clear communication and care are important, surprise candidates by asking them to teach you something that matters deeply to them during the interview process.

Tailor your appreciation to fit team member preferences and help develop more leaders.

Most leaders achieve leadership roles in their early 30s yet do not receive any leadership training until age 42. You can overcome bad leadership habits by learning the five languages of appreciation. These languages – “service acts, tangible gifts, appropriate touch, quality time and words of affirmation” – tell you how your team members like to give and receive appreciation. Although most people value each language, they tend to prefer a primary and secondary language of appreciation. Learn the preferences of your team members to tailor your appreciation approach to them and treat them as they want to be treated.

“Leadership isn’t just about whom you’re influencing; it’s also about who influences you.”

A leader’s behavior changes depending on the values and qualities of that person’s teams and peers, so be selective about the people with whom you surround yourself. Avoid echo chambers by crafting a team with diverse perspectives, backgrounds and experiences. Naturally, some team members will want to take on more leadership responsibilities. Become a “leader breeder” who helps others lead in their way rather than replicating yours.

Understand how speak-up cultures function and scale.

Like any culture, a speak-up culture is a mix of “mindsets, actions and systems” that work together. Thus, developing a new mindset might lead to new actions – or vice versa – that help close the say-do gap. For example, when Chobani CEO Hamdi Ulukaya said he wanted to reduce wealth and income inequality, he began sharing 10% of company profit with employees.

“We have values so we can live them.”

Culture scales according to the following equation: Culture = (Values x Behavior)Influence:

• Values – Write down your values as actionable steps, such as “treat people like the human beings they are,” rather than static nouns, such as “respect.”
• Behavior – Deal with minor behavior problems now to avoid building up “conflict debt” in the future.
• Influence – The more influence you have, the more your values and behaviors affect your company’s overall culture.

When leaders back up their values with behavior, they build teams that naturally attract the right people and repel the wrong ones. Sustain your speak-up culture by living the desired values and behaviors every day.

Encourage and reward behaviors that enable a speak-up culture.

To sustain a speak-up culture, build a virtuous cycle of encouragement and reward to inspire others. Encourage others to speak up by creating a psychologically safe workplace in which team members want to speak up and by telling them directly that you are interested in their insights.

After encouragement comes reward. Alongside extrinsic rewards such as promotions and bonuses, consider intrinsic ones such as a simple “Thank you.” Apply the Platinum Rule to find out how employees want you to treat them and use the five languages of appreciation to find the most fitting way to reward them. In addition to actively rewarding desirable behaviors, pay attention to the behaviors you passively tolerate. If those behaviors are toxic, tolerating them rewards those doing them and punishes those who aren’t.

Offer and receive feedback to help everyone grow.

Feedback is not fact. But that does not mean it’s not important. Feedback deepens connection, fosters growth and opens up a space for meaningful dialogue. Garner a wide range of insights, concerns, and innovative ideas by encouraging feedback from your team. If necessary, ask people to rank their responses to statements on a 1-to-10 scale. Ask for reasons behind any opinions shared. Face-to-face feedback is best, but you will get more replies if you also provide ways for team members to share their thoughts anonymously.

The more authority you have, the greater the weight of your feedback to others. Most people only receive feedback when something’s wrong, so they fear it. To help people stop fearing feedback, make it a regular, weekly activity.

“If you share your feedback with tact, care, respect, and the intent to start a dialogue, the right people will be ready and willing to engage and grow.”

When giving feedback, practice “radical candor.” Care for someone personally yet challenge them directly. Avoid “obnoxious aggression” – all challenge, no care – or “ruinous empathy” – all care, no challenge. Follow the “FBI model” – “feeling, behavior, impact” – to make your feedback specific and meaningful. Write it down to make it clear:

• Feeling – The emotions generated within you by others’ actions.
• Behavior – The specific actions or events that generated those feelings.
• Impact – How those feelings and behaviors affected you in the past, continue to do so in the present, and will shape your actions into the future.

FBI feedback can be positive or constructive. When taking the positive approach, address the three elements above, then give useful advice on what to keep doing and what to avoid.

Give both kinds every week. Gather 360-degree feedback by talking to a wide range of stakeholders, including vendors, customers, managers, employees, and more. Although 44% of managers feel stressed giving feedback out of fear that employees may quit, weigh that concern against what might happen if you don’t give feedback and they stay.

About the Author

Stephen Shedletzky is a thought leader, coach and adviser.