Most teams have a few people who are quick to speak up — and those who barely say a thing. Staff members who tend to stay quiet may think decisions have already been made. Or maybe they’ve been talked over before and prefer to stay quiet. The problem when team members stay quiet is that some voices never get heard and great ideas never get shared.

Gustavo Razzetti, the CEO of Fearless Culture, says teams don’t get stuck because they lack communication skills. They get stuck because talented people choose not to speak up. And when leaders don’t notice or let it slide, the pattern can stick. In this issue of PromoPro Daily, we share some insight from Razzetti on what might be killing your team conversations and what you can do about it.

Don’t Miss A Thing: SUBSCRIBE To PPAI Newslink

  1. Avoiding hard conversations. Problems don’t go away. They just go underground. As a result, the avoided topic strains relationships and shapes decisions without you even realizing it. Razzetti says there’s an accumulating cost of what stays unsaid — people realize that speaking up doesn’t lead to anything. It’s easier to just stay quiet. You can change this by initiating conversations. For example, you could say, “I can see how this is impacting everyone. Let’s address it before we move forward.” When you speak up consistently, he says others will follow.

  2. Challenging groupthink. According to Razzetti, groupthink tends to look like harmony. Everyone’s on board, the energy is high and decisions get made fast. However, groupthink is choosing cohesion and agreement over critical thinking. While you think everyone is acting in “harmony,” they may just be hiding their thoughts or second-guessing themselves. He recommends saying something like, “Before we commit, what would our harshest critic say about this approach?” When you normalize challenging groupthink, you normalize being honest.

  3. Owning your part. When something goes wrong, many teams jump to one question: Who’s responsible? The conversation turns into a trial to find a culprit, he says. The team focuses more on protecting its reputation than on fixing the problem. Instead, Razzetti advises looking at what went wrong rather than who is to blame. Examine what the team owns and what you own.

Teams benefit when everyone speaks up. This requires building enough trust for people to feel comfortable asking questions and sharing ideas. Try the ideas above, like challenging groupthink and facing issues head on, to encourage more productive conversations that involve everyone on your team.

Compiled by Audrey Sellers
Source: Gustavo Razzetti is the CEO of Fearless Culture, a culture design consultancy. He’s also a bestselling author and consultant.