A culture of voice occurs when each employee experiences the safety, confidence, and trust they need to contribute their fullest, resulting in open, honest, and healthy communication, innovative problem solving, knowledge transfer, and real potential for a sustainable competitive advantage.
A culture of silence, by contrast, is one where employees, regardless of their hierarchical position, willfully withhold important work-related information.
High-influence leaders encourage and sustain cultures of voice.
When your organization has a culture of voice, the workforce won't hold back important work-related information that could inform key decisions and problem resolutions. A culture of voice can prevent operational surprises that lead to chaos and counter-productive work behaviors amounting to waste.
"Breaking Corporate Silence" is based on rigorous research by Dr. Rob Bogosian on the phenomenon of employee silence, and the extensive global and executive development experience of Christine Mockler Casper, MBA, and Dr. Rob Bogosian.
To be a little more exact, you can now focus on encouraging voice with two distinct but interdependent goals:
1. Encouraging voice--resulting in employee willingness to speak up, speak out, and expand discretionary effort.
2. Your own ability to hear what they're saying and use that information for the good of the company.
Practice these six leadership skills at work:
1. Maximize Your Emotional Intelligence
2. Strengthen Your Resilience
3. Learn More Than You Affirm
Any combination of these six leadership practices will help to shape a culture of voice in your organization. Upgrading just one practice at a time will help. In fact, taking on one practice and implementing it with purpose will pave the way for you to take on another. Each one, in turn, will become easier to do. Each one will help your employees learn how to make their best contribution to the company.
Source: Dr. Rob Bogosian: Breaking Corporate Silence: How High-Influence Leaders Create Cultures of Voice