4 ways to make employees feel comfortable speaking up

1. Establish intrinsic worth

Inclusion is vital to unlocking a team's cognitive diversity, "but that inclusion must be built on a basic acceptance of any individual's worth — not their worthiness, which implies a performance test to meet a standard or requirement of some kind," Clark writes.

If you're testing an employee's competency in a particular area, a worthiness or performance test makes sense, but for inclusion, there is no test. "Simply being human qualifies you for inclusion," Clark writes.

In order for employees to feel comfortable speaking up, they need to feel a sense of acceptance based on their intrinsic worth. If they don't feel they belong, they won't risk rejection by speaking up, but if their worth is separate from the worthiness of their opinions, they'll be more willing to voice them.

Organizations have to take the first step here, Clark writes. They have to prove to the employee their worth is "a non-negotiable constant" by treating every employee with equal respect, regardless of their performance.

2. Encourage disagreement

If loyalty becomes contingent on agreeing with everything being said, it can produce "manipulated conformity, which isn't loyalty at all," Clark writes. Actual loyalty has to allow and encourage independent thought.

If disagreeing is considered being disloyal, then employees will likely be afraid to speak up. But if employees see there is rigorous debate and constructive dissent, they'll feel encouraged to participate and question any issues within the organization.

3. Model the art of disagreement

An asymmetrical power relationship between employees often makes a lower-status employee feel pressured to agree with a higher-status one, and if that becomes the norm at the organization, it can lead to each employee becoming "their own gated community," Clark writes.

Smart teams don't develop until they're able to "harness their collective intelligence by networking their minds and engaging in multidisciplinary learning," which "depends on their ability to invite and process dissent," Clark writes.

To do this, CEOs need to model the art of disagreement. For example, a CEO can explain the difference between someone who is an agitator and one who is an innovator based on the intent behind a person's dissent. Then, the CEO can ask for thoughtful, good faith disagreement, and reward challenging the status quo.

4. Commend those who speak up, even if you don't adopt their idea

Employees are often hesitant to speak up because they feel if they suggest something, there is an obligation to adopt it, Clark writes.

Instead, leaders need to make it clear that permission to speak up does not translate to an obligation of adoption. They should also make it a point to acknowledge and commend people who speak up, even if their suggestion isn't going to be used.

If you're not adopting a person's suggestion, emphasize recognition, Clark writes. Everyone needs the reassurance that, even if the answer is no, speaking up is still appreciated and encouraged.

When employees feel comfortable speaking up at their organization, "they circulate local knowledge, expand the universe of useful ideas, and prevent collective tunnel vision. And not infrequently, minority views turn into novel solutions," Clark writes. "When employees consistently speak up and voice their views and concerns, when they challenge the status quo, they find greater purpose in professional life and contribute greater value to the organization." (Clark, Harvard Business Review, 8/16)

The language we use to communicate with colleagues and patients can have an impact on how people feel and behave. For this reason, organizations are increasingly encouraging the use of  inclusive language in the workplace. Download the cheat sheet for tips to learn how to center of your conversations with inclusive language that makes everyone feel seen and safe.