Why Speaking Up in Meetings is So Important
It’s the perfect storm. In a climate of inflation, economic uncertainty and fully distributed teams, employees are demanding transparent, frequent and open communication from leaders.
The challenge is that many leaders were never taught how to communicate efficiently or effectively.
Without an open forum for dialogue, employees don’t feel safe nor supported enough to voice any concerns. The impact in such an environment is devastating - low morale, missed goals, employee defection, and accidents.
FACT: In a recent 15FIVE STUDY of 1,000 FT employees, more than 80% would rather work for an organization that values open communication than one that only offers perks like free meals and great health plans.
Where should you start?
Survey your team, share the results and demonstrate your commitment to change. Actions define intent. Take stock of what is important and what is of lower value. Prioritize. Act.
Pick a channel, and use it consistently. Email, zoom meetings, slack. Pick one, be clear and to the point. And be open.
Customize the messages. Know what you’re saying to whom. Tailor them to each audience.
Create feedback loops. Teams need to feel heard and included. Lead by example, showing them how senior leaders are open to honest feedback.
These seem like no-brainers but we’ve worked with over 100 companies and every one of them needed to work on at least 1 if not all 4 of these approaches.
Those that foster open communication from all levels enjoy increased employee engagement, greater team alignment with the company’s vision, faster decision making (think efficiency and higher returns on investment) and improved teamwork and sense of morale.
Make a point of rewarding honest feedback about a real problem. Fix it. And repeat. Your teams will be more aligned and engaged because of it.
The cost of keeping things quiet is far too dangerous.
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