Promoting a "speak-up culture" has become a major focus for many organizations. Teams, managers, and individuals are encouraged to voice their ideas, concerns, and needs. Companies implement dedicated channels, adopt new technologies, and hold regular meetings, all in the spirit of open communication. Yet despite these efforts, organizations continue to face the same challenges: familiar voices dominate discussions whilst others choose to remain silent 🤐, participation remains elusive and superficial, whilst some contribution is disruptive.
Even more concerning, critical issues impacting safety and quality, are often whispered in quiet, off-record conversations rather than formally addressed. This “silence on the important” has led to tragic outcomes, such as the preventable Boeing 737 MAX accidents(1). While open communication and reporting misconduct are essential to a healthy workplace, only 8% of employees worldwide believe they work in an environment with a strong speak-up culture. Meanwhile, over half (53%) find themselves in workplaces where open dialogue is weak or barely present (2).
Why Some Employees Speak Up
🗣️ Voice behavior, the act of speaking up with ideas,concerns, or suggestions, is more than just a personal choice. It is shaped by the relationships, team dynamics, and leadership styles,that define the social context within an organization. A speak-up culture can’t simply be declared into existence; it has to be built through intentional, ongoing efforts. For leaders aiming to foster a culture where employees feel empowered to contribute, it’s essential to understand these key predictors of voice and the steps needed to encourage it.
Voice Opportunity
A fundamental driver of voice behavior is whether employees have information or ideas they believe are worth sharing. Employees tend to speak up when they see potential improvements, but their motivation decreases if they feel others already share this information or if they believe their input isn’t needed(3).
Job-Related Attitudes and Emotions
Positive attitudes, such as job satisfaction, control over ones tasks, and commitment, can encourage voice behavior. When employees feel engaged and see their roles as meaningful, they’re more likely to contribute constructively, supporting both individual and organizational growth. Organizations that promote autonomy, offer meaningful participation, and ensure that work feels purposeful, are more likely to foster environments where employees feel comfortable speaking up. Encouragingly, studies have shown that specific employee-centered HR practices can positively impact workplace climate, supporting employee voice and reducing silence (3).
In relation to emotions at work, when employees feel respected and supported by colleagues, their sense of control and positive mood grows, motivating them to speak up. A “contagion effect” also occurs when employees observe peers voicing their ideas, as it encourages others to join in and strengthens the collective belief in the value of voice (3). Moreover, support from supervisors and coworkers on specific topics, such as safety, can encourage others to contribute, especially in discussions that benefit from diverse viewpoints.
Leadership Style
Supportive, approachable leadership is one of the mostpowerful drivers of voice behavior. When leaders practice active listening and engage with employees in meaningful ways, such as using inclusive language, offering support, and coaching, the likelihood of employees speaking up increases significantly (3). The specific leadership style may matter less than whether employees feel their supervisor is supportive, models positive behavior, and fosters a safe space for expression.
High-quality leader member exchange relationships often foster openness, although this is not so straightforward. Where employees feel supported and valued by their leaders, they are more likely to speak up. However, if the relationship becomes too close or strong, it can actually have the opposite effect, employees might hesitate to speak up because they feel a strong sense of obligation or worry about upsetting their leader. In other words, a balanced, supportive relationship encourages voice, but when it becomes overly close, employees may become cautious and hold back(3).
🔍Extensive research shows us that leaders behavior and role have a big impact on creating a climate high in psychological safety(5). When managers and peers foster an environment of psychological safety, it creates a culture where speaking up is the norm.
Breaking the Silence : Practical Steps for Leaders
For leaders, cultivating voice behavior requires fostering a supportive environment where employees feel safe to express their thoughts. This means going beyond open-door policies to actively encourage dialogue through behavior. Speaking up is an incredibly vulnerable action on the part of any individual and certain factors lead more to the act of choosing to remain silent.
🔴 The vulnerability of speaking up: Offering new ideas can feel risky. Team members may fear that sharing will expose them to judgment, demeaning comments, or even a negative reaction from superiors. The potential for negative consequences often outweighs the perceived benefits of speaking up.
✅ Leaders can reduce this vulnerability by modeling openness and empathy, explicitly showing that new ideas are welcomed and that mistakes are part of growth. When leaders normalize healthy vulnerability, they pave the way for genuine contributions.
🔴 Hierarchy Imbalance: Employees may feel that those in leadership roles have more information or expertise, making their own ideas seem insignificant by comparison. This hierarchy can lead to thoughts like, "The higher-ups already know better, so why speak up?"
✅ Les dirigeants doivent reconnaître l'impact de ce déséquilibre sur la dynamique de l'équipe et y remédier activement. En soulignant que les points de vue de tous les niveaux sont essentiels pour prendre des décisions éclairées, les dirigeants peuvent créer un environnement dans lequel chacun a le sentiment que sa contribution est importante, quel que soit son rang (4).
🔴 Fear of Rejection: When ideas are quickly shut down or overlooked,it sends a clear message that contributions aren’t valued, not just to the individual but all those watching. If one team member’s idea is dismissed without discussion, others may hesitate to share their thoughts, seeing that creativity and risk-taking aren’t welcome.
✅ Leaders should work to counter this by ensuring every contribution receives thoughtful acknowledgment, creating a safe space for iterative thinking and constructive feedback.
🔴 Someone Else Has Spoken Up: The presence of vocal colleagues, and even the knowledge of others having similar information to them can sometimes reduce others’ inclination to contribute, as it reduces their feeling of responsibility for speaking up.
✅ Leaders can counter this by actively inviting multiple perspectives, making it clear that each team member’s input brings unique value and helps prevent groupthink. When one individual contributes, leaders can invite others to list advantages or build up on other ideas (4).
🔴 Lack of beliefthat leaders are truly listening: Employees can sense when leaders are fully engaged, and that genuine attention can transform the whole dynamic. When people feel heard, they’re far more likely to keep talking, and that’s where the magic of a Speak Up culture really begins.
✅ Leaders must start with true listening—a type that goes beyond simply hearing words, where the aim is to absorb and process what others are genuinely trying to say. This isn’t just about waiting for one’s turn to respond or rebut. Instead, it’s about creating a pause, taking in ideas fully, and acknowledging each point thoughtfully (6).
🔴 Pressure of giving the BEST ideas: How a topic is introduced can make or break open dialogue. Leaders might think asking for "only the best ideas" will motivate people, but ironically, this enthusiasm can actually cause a freeze in contributions.
✅ Opening discussions as a chance for exploration, where ideas of all shapes and sizes are welcome, helps ease the pressure. A well-placed question or gentle nudge can encourage quieter team members to speak up and remind louder voices to make room for others (6).
Finally, a dose of humility and curiosity can work wonders. Leaders who admit they don’t have all the answers not only take the pressure off themselves but also foster a space where others feel comfortable offering insights(3).
Building the foundation for a Speak Up culture
Training leaders in active listening, inclusive language, and supportive responses can build a foundation of trust that encourages employees to speak up. Implementing these strategies isn’t only about immediate gains in productivity or safety. It’s about shaping a resilient culture where teams are empowered to share insights, address issues proactively, and innovate. Leaders who understand and leverage the relational and social dynamics within their teams are well-positioned to unlock the full potential of voice behavior, turning employee input into a powerful driver of organizational success.
Before layering on more tools or initiatives to encourage communication, it’s essential to understand the foundation you’re working with. Start by measuring your teams current levels of satisfaction, social links, feedback culture and psychological safety among others. When team members feel safe and supported to speak up, meaningful conversations and authentic engagement follow naturally. With OpenDecide, you can regularly measure and adjust, ensuring your team has the environment it needs to communicate openly and thrive.
Article references
- Amy C. Edmondson 2019, Boeing and the Importance of Encouraging Employees to Speak Up https://hbr.org/2019/05/boeing-and-the-importance-of-encouraging-employees-to-speak-up
- Global Business Ethics Survey 2024, Barriers to a Speak-Up Culture and the Risks of a Silent Workforce https://www.ethics.org/wp-content/uploads/Jan24GBES_MonthlyReport_PDF-F2-2.pdf
- Morrison, E. W. 2023, Employee voice and silence: Taking stock a decade later. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 10, 79–107.)https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-120920-054654
- Carnevale, J. B., Huang, L., Uhl-Bien, M., & Harris, S. (2020). Feeling obligated yet hesitant to speak up: Investigating the curvilinear relationship between LMX and employee promotive voice. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology
- Frazier, M. L., Fainshmidt, S., Klinger, R. L., Pezeshkan, A., & Vracheva, V. (2017). Psychological Safety: A Meta-Analytic Review and Extension: PERSONNEL PSYCHOLOGY. Personnel Psychology, 70(1), 113-165. https://doi.org/10.1111/peps.12183
- Edmondson, A. C., & Besieux, T. (2021). Reflections: Voice and Silence in Workplace Conversations.. Journal of Change Management, 21(3), 269-286. https://doi.org/10.1080/14697017.2021.1928910
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