Teach speak-up skills, not just encourage speaking up
Give team members specific language for raising concerns, not just permission to raise them.
Key takeaways
- What it is: Give team members specific language for raising concerns, not just permission to raise them.
- Why it works: Permission to speak up is necessary but not sufficient — many people lack the skill to raise a concern without it feeling like an accusation, or to disagree with a senior colleague without seeming disrespectful. Providing concrete language reduces the interpersonal cost of candor by lowering the verbal execution barrier, especially for those from cultures or backgrounds where direct challenge is less normative.
- Evidence: Plausible mechanism, limited direct outcome data.
- Avoid: Repeatedly telling people "you can always come to me" without ever practicing how, which leaves high-stakes moments as the first attempt at a difficult skill.
Why it works
Permission to speak up is necessary but not sufficient — many people lack the skill to raise a concern without it feeling like an accusation, or to disagree with a senior colleague without seeming disrespectful. Providing concrete language reduces the interpersonal cost of candor by lowering the verbal execution barrier, especially for those from cultures or backgrounds where direct challenge is less normative.
How to do it
- 1Share specific phrases: "I have a concern I’d like to raise," "I want to understand the thinking here," "I see it differently."
- 2Run low-stakes practice sessions where team members try out these phrases.
- 3Create a team norm that using these phrases is a sign of engagement, not obstruction.
- 4Make the entry point to candor as easy as possible — even a simple hand-raise or a channel for written concerns.
What the evidence says
MechanisticVoice behavior research finds that both motivation and ability to speak up are required; having something to say and feeling permitted to say it does not automatically produce the communicative competence to say it effectively.
Honest caveat: The specific practice of pre-teaching language for speaking up is a practitioner application; the underlying voice behavior research supports the two-factor model (motivation + ability) but does not directly test this intervention.
Common mistake
Repeatedly telling people "you can always come to me" without ever practicing how, which leaves high-stakes moments as the first attempt at a difficult skill.
IX Coach coaches you on phrasing challenges and disagreements in ways that are honest and professionally effective, so speaking up feels like a skill rather than a gamble.
Practice this with IX Coach →