How Do People Speak Up When They Don't Know What to Say?

In high-risk industries, the dominant view about why workers do not speak up to someone higher up in the hierarchy, even when faced with an imminent threat, is the absence of ‘psychological safety'. It follows, therefore, those management initiatives are predominantly focused on creating a safe space for workers to ‘speak up' and share concerns with their co-workers and superiors.

Based on their research and practice, Dr. Nippin Anand, Gitte Damm, and Dr. Ruchi Sinha will present perspectives about the complex nature of “speaking up” and why it may not be as straightforward as it may initially appear. If the aim is to understand and improve team performance, we must be prepared to think beyond and face the challenges underlying the goal of creating psychological safety.