Encouraging Team Members to Speak Up

Your team just told you they're burned out. What you say in the next 30 seconds will either build trust or destroy it forever. Most leaders think trust is built through big gestures and annual reviews. But after coaching hundreds of executives, I've learned the truth: trust lives in those split-second moments when someone brings you a problem. Here's what happens when your team raises concerns: What breaks trust: ❌ Dismissing their reality → "Everyone's busy right now" → Translation: Your wellbeing doesn't matter ❌ Making it about you → "I worked 80 hours last week too" → Translation: Your struggle isn't valid ❌ Using guilt as motivation → "We need team players here" → Translation: Speaking up makes you disloyal Instead of defaulting to defensiveness, here’s how we guide leaders to respond—using the CHANGES framework from Conversational Intelligence®: 🤝 C - Co-Creating (Shift from Excluding to Including) → "Thank you for trusting me with this - let's solve it together" → Makes them part of the solution, not the problem 🤝 H - Humanizing (Shift from Judging to Appreciating) → "Your honesty takes courage and helps our whole team" → Demonstrate respect for their contribution 🤝 A - Aspiring (Shift from Limiting to Expanding Aspirations) → "This feedback helps us create the culture we want" → Connect their concern to bigger organizational goals 🤝 N - Navigating (Shift from Withholding to Sharing) → "Let me share what I'm seeing and hear your perspective" → Create transparency around challenges and solutions 🤝 G - Generativity (Shift from Knowing to Discovering) → "What ideas do you have that we haven't tried yet?" → Reward their insights and encourage innovation 🤝 E - Expressing (Shift from Dictating to Developing) → "How can we empower you to make decisions about your workload?" → Inspire them to own solutions 🤝 S - Synchronizing (Shift from Criticizing to Celebrating) → "Here's what we're changing because you spoke up" → Celebrate their courage and close the feedback loop The hidden cost of getting this wrong: – Your best people stop bringing you problems – Issues explode instead of getting solved early – Innovation dies because psychological safety doesn't exist The payoff of getting this right: – Teams that come to you first when things go wrong, not last. – Projects move faster because the sticky points come up early. – Conflict fades as respect and tolerance goes up. Your next conversation is your next opportunity to choose trust over control. Start with one letter that comes most easily and work your way through CHANGES… one each day. P.S. Which CHANGES element do you need most right now? 🔔 Follow me, Jill Avey, for more leadership insights that move careers forward ♻️ Share to help leaders build stronger teams

The stories we tell ourselves are sabotaging our teams. This is because, to quote Anaïs Nin, "we don't see things as they are, we see them as we are." When someone challenges your idea in a meeting, what's your first thought? They're undermining you? They don't respect your expertise? Or they're genuinely trying to help? 🤔 Your answer reveals more about your past experiences than their actual intentions—and it's shaping whether your team feels safe to speak up. Here's the truth: we filter everything through our personal history. Someone who was once humiliated for asking questions will interpret a raised eyebrow very differently than someone who grew up debating over dinner. This matters because psychological safety isn't just about what leaders say; it's about what each person believes is true based on their own lens. Here are 3 ways to build psychological safety that actually work: ✨ 1. NAME THE FILTERS openly. Start meetings with: "We all interpret feedback differently. If something I say lands wrong, please tell me. I want to learn how my words are being received." Give people permission to surface their interpretations instead of suffering in silence. 2. REWARD THE BEHAVIOR you actually want! Don't just say you want people to speak up; actively celebrate when someone disagrees with you or points out a problem. Make it visible that challenging ideas leads to recognition, not retaliation. 3. GET CURIOUS ABOUT REACTIONS. When someone seems defensive, pause and ask: "What might their past experience be telling them about this moment?" Instead of assuming that they're being "difficult," try responding to their underlying concern. The goal isn't to eliminate our filters; it's to create enough safety that people can risk being vulnerable despite what their past experiences are whispering. What stories might your team be telling themselves about speaking up? #PsychologicalSafety #CourageousConversations #HumanCenteredLeadership #SpeakUpCulture _______ 🌈 I’m a leadership coach, speaker, and culture strategist who champions courageous conversations and communities rooted in care. 🗣 I write about what it means to lead with empathy, connect across difference, and fight for justice in our workplaces and beyond. ✨ If this post moved you or made you think, please share it. Let’s grow these conversations together. 🔔 Follow me and tap the bell to stay connected with future reflections and resources. 🤝 Curious about working together? Let’s connect. I’d love to explore how I can support your team or event.

One of my coaching clients an SVP at a global tech firm was puzzled. “I ask for feedback, but no one speaks up. Later, I hear all the real concerns in side conversations.” Sound familiar? 🔑 The issue wasn’t trust. It was timing. When leaders speak first, they often shut down dialogue without realizing it. That’s why I shared this brilliant insight from CEO coach Sabina Nawaz’s recent The Wall Street Journal Journal article: “Bosses Should Never Speak First.” Instead, speak third. 💡 Here’s why it works: ✅ It creates space for others to think and share freely ✅ It signals psychological safety and curiosity ✅ It surfaces more thoughtful, diverse perspectives ✅ It leads to stronger buy-in and decision quality 🛠 Tips to implement right away: — Stay on mute or jot down thoughts while others share — Ask open-ended questions like “What tradeoffs have you considered?” — Paraphrase to confirm shared understanding — Be intentional about when—and why—you speak As a professor, leadership coach, advisor, and L&D professional, I help business leaders and their teams become more effective, cohesive, and future-ready in an AI-driven, multigenerational workplace. 🚀 Sometimes, the most powerful move a leader can make is to pause, and let others lead. 💬 What’s one habit you’ve adopted that helps your team speak up? #LeadershipDevelopment #FutureOfWork #MultigenerationalWorkplace #AI #LifelongLearning #NextGenLeaders #JennyFernandez #Professor #Coach #Advisor #Thinkers50 #MG100 https://lnkd.in/eapTV7RG