How can leaders foster organizational cultures that encourage speak up?

Fostering an environment where people speak up when witnessing misconduct, or with new ideas or concerns, is a key enabler of ethical culture. When concerns are raised and acted upon, organizations are able to address emerging problems, prevent harm, and avoid reputational damage.

But putting this into practice continues to be a challenge for leaders. Principia research reveals that only half of employees who observe misconduct go on to report it, while an even lower proportion (47%) feel they can challenge superiors without fear of negative repercussions. Traditional approaches to encouraging a speak up culture are clearly not working.

This briefing presents an alternative lens for fostering speak up in organizations. By focussing on the cultural enablers of speak up, leaders encourage employees to more consistently voice ideas and concerns, and reap the many rewards this brings.

This Ethics Briefing explores:

• Key cultural enablers of speak up in organizations;
• Common myths and misconceptions surrounding speak up;
• Critical success factors; and
• Immediate next steps leaders can take to foster a speak up culture in their organizations.