Most leaders want their employees to speak up. They want people to raise concerns, share ideas, challenge assumptions, and bring solutions forward. But what happens when employees stop contributing?
It may not be because they have nothing to say. It may be because they've learned that speaking up doesn't make much difference.
If people don't feel heard, or they don't think their ideas will go anywhere, they may eventually stop bringing things to you.
And that can leave leaders without the information, ideas, and perspectives they need to make good decisions.
Consider Your Reponse
Think about what happens when an employee brings you a concern or an idea. You listen, but you're already thinking about your response. They suggest a change, and your first reaction is to explain why it won't work.
Maybe you have good reasons. Perhaps you've tried something similar before, the timing isn't right, or there are constraints they don't know about.
But when the response is consistently no, people learn something. They learn that bringing ideas forward isn't likely to change anything.
Over time, employees may start keeping their concerns and suggestions to themselves. They may become quieter and more agreeable, but that doesn't necessarily mean everything is working well.
It may mean you're no longer hearing what they really think.
Stay Curious
Imagine an employee approaches their manager with an idea for improving a process. The manager immediately sees three reasons it won't work. They explain the problems, suggest a different approach, and move on. The conversation is over.
Now imagine the manager responds differently. Instead of deciding immediately, they get curious:
- What's the problem you're trying to solve?
- What would this change?
- What would a smaller version of this look like?
The idea might still not be the right solution. But the employee has had an opportunity to think it through, and the manager has learned something about what's happening on the team.
Perhaps there's a smaller change worth trying. Or maybe the employee has identified a problem the manager hadn't seen.
The difference isn't that the manager automatically says yes. It's that they don't let their first reaction stop the conversation.
How to Encourage Employees to Speak Up
Creating an environment where people feel comfortable contributing starts with how leaders respond.
Here are three ways to make more room for employees to share their perspectives.
1. Listen before you respond
When someone brings you an idea or concern, give them the opportunity to explain it fully. Resist the urge to jump in with an answer or an immediate objection.
Sometimes the most useful thing a leader can do is listen long enough to understand what's really being said.
2. Stay curious instead of assuming you know the answer
Ask questions that help employees explore their thinking. What are they trying to solve? What have they considered? What might be possible?
You don't have to agree with every suggestion. But exploring an idea can reveal information or opportunities you might otherwise miss.
3. Don't let the first version of an idea be the last conversation
An idea may not work in its original form. That doesn't mean there's nothing useful in it. Explore whether there's a smaller change worth testing, another approach to consider, or an underlying problem that needs attention.
When employees see that their contributions are taken seriously, they're more likely to keep bringing things forward.
Your Team Has Information You Need
Great leaders create space for people to contribute. They listen before they respond, stay curious, and avoid automatically shutting down ideas just because the first version won't work.
Because people pay attention to more than whether you listen. They pay attention to what happens when they speak.
If employees know their perspectives will be heard and their ideas will be taken seriously, they're more likely to keep contributing.
And that gives leaders access to something incredibly valuable: what their people actually think.
A question for leaders to consider:
What are your employees learning from you when they bring you an idea you don't agree with?
Download: 8 Things Great Leaders Do
Great leadership isn’t just about knowing what to do. It’s about how you put it into practice.
Download our free guide, 8 Things Great Leaders Do. It shares insights from Vivo Team’s coaches and eight practical behaviours that can help you strengthen your leadership.
Because when you invest in your people, the results follow.
Full Video Transcript
Are you listening, or do you just keep hearing yourself say no?
Because if your employees don't feel heard, and they don't think their ideas are going anywhere, they may eventually stop bringing them to you. And that's a real problem.
I'm Renée Safrata, and I understand that most leaders want their employees to speak up.
They want people to raise concerns, share ideas, challenge assumptions, and bring solutions forward.
But leaders can unintentionally create an environment where people learn that it's easier to clam up, stay quiet, say nothing.
Think about what happens when an employee brings you a concern.
You listen, but you're already thinking about the response. Or they bring you an idea, and your first reaction is to explain why it won't work.
Maybe you have good reasons.
Maybe you've tried something similar before, or maybe the timing isn't right.
Maybe there are constraints that they don't know about, and they never will.
But if the response is always no, people learn something.
They learn that bringing ideas forward isn't likely to change anything. And if people don't feel heard, or they don't feel like there's room to explore their ideas, they can start keeping things to themselves.
That's when leaders can end up with a team that seems quiet, very agreeable, and easy to manage, but isn't necessarily giving them the information, the ideas, and the perspective that they need to move projects forward.
Imagine an employee comes to their manager with an idea for improving a process.
The manager immediately sees three reasons why it won't work, so they explain the problem, suggest a different approach, and they move on.
The conversation's over. It is dead.
Now imagine the manager responds differently.
Instead of deciding immediately, they get curious.
What's the problem you're trying to solve?
What would this change?
What would a smaller version of it look like?
The idea might still not be the right solution, but now the employee has had the opportunity to think it through, and the manager has learned something about what's happening on the team. And maybe the idea leads somewhere that they weren't expecting.
Maybe there's something smaller worth trying, or maybe the employee has identified a problem that the manager was blind to.
The point isn't to say yes to everything.
It is to make sure that the first response doesn't stop the conversation.
Great leaders create space for people to contribute.
They listen before they respond.
They stay curious instead of assuming they already know the answer, and they don't automatically shut down an idea just because the first version won't work.
Because people don't just pay attention to whether you're listening. They pay attention to what's happening when they speak. And if they know their perspectives will be heard and their ideas will be taken seriously, they're more likely to keep bringing things forward.
And that's when leaders get access to something incredibly valuable: what people actually think.
Huh, fascinating.
So here's a question to consider.
What are your employees learning from you when they bring an idea that you don't agree with?
Great leadership isn't about knowing what to do. It's about how to put it into practice.
Download Vivo Team's free guide, 8 Things Great Leaders Do, in the link below.
It shares insights from Vivo Team's coaches and eight practical behaviors that can help you strengthen your leadership.
Because when you invest in your people, the results will follow.
