It’s always a challenge to make your ideas, suggestions and opinions known. For various reasons, too many people are very uncomfortable with speaking their minds. Some have to do with the current socio-political climate that currently grips our world, but some simply have to do with human nature.
While we won’t solve all the socio-political problems of the world in this post, I’d like to share a couple of highly underused and underrated tips that will help solve a lot of the human nature-related challenges that accompany speaking one’s mind, especially in the workplace. (And they might even help if you decide to engage in a political discussion as well!)
The biggest problem is that just blurting out your idea is often too intimidating to consider, and is also counter-productive for several reasons:
We don’t know if it’s been tried before and don’t want to sound stupid…
We don’t know if our idea will be welcome…
We aren’t sure how the other person will react…
If you have an idea, suggestion or observation, here are two tips to help you feel more comfortable speaking up:
Preface Your Statements
All this means is that you shouldn’t just blurt out your suggestion upon encountering someone in the hallway, a meeting, over the phone or in a virtual environment.
Basically, start “calling out the elephant in the room” (or in your brain, where your fear lives).
For example, if you are afraid that the idea has been suggested before (perhaps you’ve been out of the loop or are new to the organization), you can simply state it, “I’m not sure if this has been suggested before, but I had an idea that we could [OFFER YOUR IDEA HERE].”
Do you see how this takes away any embarrassment before you speak because you’re saying that you don’t know if it’s been tried before – and acknowledging that it may have been.
If you’re afraid of sounding stupid, you could just say, “This might be a crazy idea, but it may be worth considering.”
Ask Permission
You never know whose idea the one you’re criticizing (even constructively) was. There may be some pride of ownership of the process you’re trying to improve, or the marketing materials you’re attempting to revamp. So, it may be best to use the following “template” for offering constructive feedback:
· Acknowledge what’s good about the current item in question.
· Tell the person that you have an idea that may help solve a challenge or improve it.
· Ask permission to share your idea.
A sample exchange could go like this:
“I’ve just gotten off the phone with a customer and it was very easy to get into the CRM when I got them on the line. I did have one challenge when I tried to view their entire order from 6 weeks ago; several other people have mentioned having similar challenges looking at older orders and I had an idea that might help in the future. May I share my idea?” (Or, “where can I share my idea?”)
Prefacing your statements and asking permission to offer comments accomplishes several goals:
- By acknowledging an unknown or potential negative up front, it takes all the air out of any negative comment that could come your way. If they still make a negative or disrespectful comment, that’s on them, and everyone who hears it will recognize it.
- You’ve given them an opportunity to tell you if something has been tried in the past, which opens up a conversation about what worked and what didn’t.
- Asking permission shuts down a potential conflict if the person doesn’t want to hear your (or any) suggestions.
- It allows you to “save face” if you’re repeating a suggestion that has already been tried.
- It also allows them to save face if they are the one who originally put the item in question in place because you’re not tearing down everything about the process.
This process helps people speak up, but this challenge is only one side of the coin.
In my work with an international client whose managers were surveyed in preparation for my upcoming training for their administrative professionals, a very interesting topic came up when they were asked, “What do you want Sandy to cover in her training?“
One of their top answers? “We want our staff members to speak up more courageously.”
WOW! It wasn’t to get more technology training, or to do more work. It was to share what they know and the ideas they have to help make the entire organization better.
This sentiment does not apply exclusively to administrative staff. When I mention this to clients requesting customer service and leadership training, and ask if it is something that would be important to them, their eyes light up!
This means that, on the one hand, leaders want their people to speak up and on the other hand, team members do want to share their ideas. They also want their leaders to value their ideas and input.
So, another reason why valuable sharing isn’t happening as often as it should is something leaders need to address, especially at a time when we all need to a do a lot more with a lot less.
Every leader needs their team members to pay attention and speak up when they see something that should be stopped, started or continued. In fact, many have shared with me that they are nervous about the fact that they have long-term employees who are approaching retirement and have extensive institutional knowledge that could help everyone be better… but they just won’t share it. They are afraid that all that knowledge will simply “walk out the door” and be lost forever when those associates retire.
The fact is that those who work for you (especially those who are new to the organization) may not feel comfortable offering information without someone requesting it.
Fortunately, there’s an easy way for leaders to overcome this challenge.
Just Start Asking! Let your associates know that their input is welcome! After you ask for their ideas and opinions, follow up.
Seriously consider the ideas they share. Don’t just ask for their suggestions and let them go down a “black hole” where they are never thought of again.
Let them know the status of their ideas. If you’re going to use a suggestion, let them know how, when and where. If you’re not going to use it, let them know why not. The answer to every suggestion doesn’t have to be to implement it. It just must be acknowledged and thoughtfully considered.
Thank/reward them for offering every suggestion (whether or not you use it). A simple verbal or written thank you may be enough. If their suggestion makes a big positive impact, you might consider a bonus, gift card, award or other tangible thank you.
Some organizations have quarterly drawings where those who offer suggestions get one “ticket” for each one given. The more ideas, the more tickets. Each quarter, a drawing is held for gift cards and other valuable rewards.
The biggest positive impact that derives from using a process is that the process itself makes it easier to speak up in the first place, and then to focus on the intent and outcome of the discussion (solving a problem), rather than the emotions of the conversation.
It also allows the conversation to take place, rather than allowing challenges and fears to fester in the background, with no one coming forward to solve them.
And that’s a win-win-win for the leaders, team members and the entire organization.
