This is the weekly Careers newsletter.
Radhika Panjwani is a former journalist from Toronto and a blogger.
Before Toronto’s Stephen Shedletzky became well-known as a speaker, leadership coach and founder of Shed Inspires, he experienced firsthand how poor leadership can singlehandedly infect an organization’s culture.
While on a corporate track many years ago, Mr. Shedletzky summoned the courage to share a half-baked idea with his company’s leadership team, but he got yelled at by a senior manager.
It bothered him, but the bigger issue was that two other managers, one of whom was his supervisor, witnessed the tirade and did absolutely nothing.
“The vast majority of leaders are unaware of the role they signed up for or their impact on others,” he said. “And the more senior you get in the organization, the farther away you get from the truth because you hold power over others. Your employees are more likely to talk to you in deference than they are to speak hard truths for the fear of being punished.”
In toxic cultures, there’s both fear and silence, because of the absence of psychological safety. Psychological safety, he explained, is when team members believe they can take inter-personal risks without being shamed or punished.
Over the years, Mr. Shedletzky’s work has focused heavily on psychological safety, so when he started to write his forthcoming book, Speak Up Culture: When Leaders Truly Listen, People Step Up, he realized the issue was more nuanced.
Speak Up Culture
Speak up culture is primarily focused on leadership and how some leaders, through their behaviours, enable people to share ideas, concerns and even disagreements and mistakes. These leaders not only encourage but reward employees for doing so.
“You get a speak up culture when there’s a perception of both psychological safety as well as a perception of impact,” Mr. Shedletzky said. “What I mean by perception of impact is before people speak up and use their voice to talk about an idea, concern or disagreement, they typically ask themselves: Is it safe? And is it worth it?”
Speak up culture can be explained by imagining a quadrant. Culture within an organization can be high safety, high impact; high safety, low impact; low safety, high impact; or low safety, low impact.
An example, Ed Pierson, a former senior manager at the Boeing 737 factory in Renton, Wash., repeatedly raised concerns to his supervisors about the unsafe environment on the production floor and the risk it posed to the safety of the planes, but he was ignored. However, after two horrific crashes resulting in the deaths of 346 people, Mr. Pierson decided to share his story with the U.S. Congress.
“Every great leader I know has a personal stake, something that’s more important than their own ego or paycheque, and that’s why they feel the courage to speak the truth,“ Mr. Shedletzky said. Mr. Pierson’s actions at the Boeing factory are a well-documented example of speak up culture, he said.
Six ways to empower leaders
In a recent blog post, Jacinta Jiménez, a licensed psychologist and author of The Burnout Fix: Overcome Overwhelm, Beat Busy, and Sustain Success in the New World of Work, said research shows companies that foster a greater sense of belonging have seen a 56-per-cent increase in productivity and a 50-per-cent reduction in risk of employee turnover. But the psychological safety needed to nurture this environment has not been fully understood.
Dr. Jiménez believes leadership development is key to developing psychological safety. She suggests incorporating six skills and actions to fortify and empower managers and leaders:
- Communication skills: Practise active listening and curiosity. Ask the team for ideas, thoughts and feedback. Probe, ask questions and encourage people to speak up.
- Conflict resolution skills: Promote respect and intervene if a team member undermines or exhibits behaviour that discourages others.
- Accountability: Lead by example. People in leadership positions should ask for upward feedback, acknowledge mistakes, be approachable, show empathy and be open to other opinions.
- Vulnerability: Leaders need to be unafraid to show their vulnerability and fallibility. This creates space for others to own up to their own mistakes.
- Empathy: Foster an open conversation. Within the team environment, consider whether everyone has an opportunity to speak.
- Self-reflect and empower others: Ensure you leverage your privilege and power to empower those who are underrepresented.
“Psychological safety shouldn’t be a ‘nice to have’ job perk,” Dr. Jiménez writes. “It should be a vital part of every company’s culture and future.”
What I’m reading around the web
- Frost has affected 80 per cent of France’s vineyards, according to this article on CNN. The frost is compounding problems for an industry that is still reeling from the pandemic and U.S. tariffs. Winemakers tried lighting candles and braziers in their vineyards, but in many cases it was not enough to protect their budding vines.
- Perseverance is the No. 1 soft skill, says a child psychologist in this article on CNBC. In fact, studies say perseverance is a stronger predictor of success than IQ. One of the ways parents can help their children build perseverance is by fighting the four factors that usually derail it: fatigue, anxiety, identity based solely on fast achievements and learning expectations that don’t match abilities.
- Who says TikTok is only for Gen Z? Sixty-five-year-old makeup mogul Bobbi Brown talks to her audience directly on TikTok, and that has proven to be a game changer, according to this story in Forbes. When Ms. Brown watched TikTok influencers misuse her products, she was in a quandary about whether she should correct them. So she recorded educational videos, with one reel poking fun at the misuse of her products. It went viral and further endeared her to her audience.
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