Nate’s Notes 210: How To Get Others to Speak Up | Professor Ethan Burris

In order for leaders to consistently make the best decisions, they need access to the best information. But all too often, employees who have that information don’t speak up.

To get employees to speak up, maybe the most important thing managers can do is proactively reach out and solicit voice. No good manager has ever said they have a closed-door policy. But if we don’t have systems in place that encourage employee voice, our door will feel much more closed to employees than we perceive.

Simple techniques can help. For example, managers can use the two-question, two-word response check in at the beginning of meetings: How are you feeling? What’s going on? This gives people a chance to speak, while also creating an expectation that everyone has something to say.

Eye contact can also be important. When we give deference to people it signals we trust them and helps them feel like speaking up.

It’s also important for leaders to be consistent, otherwise it feels risky to speak up.

Finally, I love Ethan’s point that proactively seeking out voice comes at a cost. Many of the Type A+ people Ethan consults with feel like some of these things are too touchy feely. Some of the activities also take time that could be spent on other things.

But by proactively seeking out voice, we signal that we value it and increase the odds that we get access to the best information from our employees.

It’s a simple idea. Please take it seriously.

Ethan Burris Bio:

Ethan Burris is a senior associate dean in the business school at the University of Texas at Austin, where he is also a professor of management.

Ethan has helped improve operations and employee engagement for several top companies, including Fortune 500 companies in technology, financial services, casual dining, grocery, and retail sectors, along with hospitals, defense contractors, commercial real estate companies, and governmental agencies. He has also acted as a visiting scholar for Microsoft and Google.

Ethan earned a PhD and MS from Cornell University where he worked as a lecturer before joining Texas.