Speaking Up at Work – Now is the Time.

Oh Canada! What a challenging time. Given the gift of many decades on this earth I believe we are, for the most part, a decent people striving to do the right thing.

At the same time, we are experiencing workplace productivity issues¹, and the North American political situation is causing upheaval as well. It’s an opportune moment to consider one way we can strengthen our Canadian workplace.

By focusing on what apparently everyone wants, but we require tools to deal with – good character. Both for our organizations and us, as individuals.²

One part of good character is speaking up. Speaking up honestly and candidly is part of integrity. We have integrity – let’s make sure others know it.

The Canadian character is often described as too passive. “A nice, apologetic, gentle people” ³ which make us vulnerable to be sidelined by the most aggressive, bullying voice.

There are two ways practical ways to consider this issue. First, think about your own voice – when you speak up and when you don’t. The other consideration is ensuring that those around you are speaking up. Hearing your colleagues, particularly your team, your peers and your leader is important, as you well know.

More communication,in all directions,can increase engagement.⁴ Speaking up about what is valuable and could be done more effectively increases the opportunity to develop a culture that enhances more constructive participation and thereby effectiveness.

Good character requires self-awareness, intentionality and skills. Of course, it is possible to develop good character⁵ – speaking up is only one element, but it is important.

Here is a short self-assessment covering both organizational culture and personal perspectives regarding speaking up.

Topic Additional Information True somewhat true, not true

1. Your Character You believe it’s best to remain silent and conciliatory to keep the peace. Or not offend or hurt anyone.
2. Finding the Words You fear an aggressive push back after you speak up, and you won’t know what to say next.
3. Organizational Culture Your organization does not encourage people to share thoughts, so you keep your ideas to yourself.
4. Trust You don’t believe that you will be heard and understood if you explain your point of view.
5. Feel Ignored You make a suggestion, and it is ignored. Another says the same thing and is lauded. You often feel powerless.
6. It’s Common Practice You see disrespectful, inappropriate behaviour as the norm in your workplace and therefore you just tolerate it.
7. Given up You are so often interrupted, or your sentences finished by others that you have given up.
8. Fear of Repercussions You’re concerned about damaging your reputation (being seen as difficult or odd) or facing other negative consequences if you speak up.
9. Shrink down You are concerned that other’s may not approve if you express your true thoughts and feelings.
10. Bullied into silence You are silenced and uncomfortable when experiencing bullying behaviour.
11. Cashed Out You are so disappointed or hurt by past issues that you aren’t interested in organizational success.
12. Too Late You are late in recognizing when you have been treated disrespectfully, and it is too late to say anything.
13. Big Enough You know something negative has happened to you, but you worry that the issue is too small to mention.
14. Hurt our Relationship You don’t want to damage a good relationship, so saying nothing seems like the best choice.

Interpreting Results.

If you find more than a couple of “somewhat true” or “not true” responses, then you may choose to make some changes. The Character Intelligence Model©⁶ can be applied to “skill up” in that particular area.

The goal of the blog this year is to provide information on developing a confident, authentically good, powerful voice by leveraging your character, both for you and your organization.

The assessment topics will be covered in 2025 blogs. The assessment is also in a downloadable template to use as required, for yourself and your team.

Click here to access assessment tool.

An example of one issue – Your Character (1.)

One of your team overtalks at meetings. This person interrupts others and dominates the conversation the majority of the time. You have asked them to invite others into the discussion and not interrupt, to no avail. This behaviour is hurting the team’s productivity and this person’s effectiveness. You know they mean well, they are a productive contributor in many ways, and enjoy talking, but you need to be clear regarding their impact on the team. You want to practice speaking up.

Following the Character Intelligence Model©, the starting point is Intention. Intention has four aspects: beliefs, principles, values and goals.
Here are some questions to ask yourself to ensure that your words and actions (speaking up behaviour) align with your intention.

Intentions:
• Beliefs – today, what do you think is the right thing to do in this situation?
• Principle – what is fair to all parties concerned?
• Values – what is important to you in this circumstance?
• Goals – what specific action would you like to take in this situation? What are the words and actions you would like to say/take?

By clarifying your intention, you determine that you will be more assertive and honest with the person and hold them accountable to change their behaviour. You decide to hold an in-person meeting and describe the behaviour you have observed and the impact on themselves, their colleagues, the work and you. You will ask them what they will do to stop taking so much airtime, and what they need to do this. You will set a follow up meeting with the person to assess the change/results.

To do this, you will be required to pay attention to your own thoughts so that your intention is not derailed. Also, attend to your feelings. Feelings of concern for the person can override your intention/actions.

The Character Intelligence Model© can be applied in any situation to determine if you should speak up or not by asking the questions above and paying attention to your thoughts and feelings as you apply your desired behaviour.

This is indeed a time when all our voices need to be heard. The self-assessment supports awareness around this issue and Character Intelligence Model© is a tool to develop greater strength and power in speaking up.

“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” – Martin Luther King Jr.

Kathleen has written five books based on good character in the workplace.

The books are accessible at www.centreforcharacterleadership.com

Resources and Additional Reading
¹ https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/230519/dq230519b-eng.htm
² https://www.regent.edu/journal/international-journal-of-leadership-studies/leading-with-integrity/
³ https://www.cbc.ca/2017/sorry-can-we-talk-about-why-canadians-apologize-so-much-1.3939997
⁴ https://www.benefitscanada.com/news/bencan/canadian-employees-engagement-in-line-with-global-average-of-21-survey/
⁵ https://your.yale.edu/work-yale/learn-and-grow/career-development/build-your-character-through-lifelong-learning
⁶ link to the Character Intelligence Model.

With gratitude,

Kathleen Redmond MA, MCC
kr@centreforcharacterleadership.com

905.478.7962

 Visit our website

Centre for Character Leadership | 1111 Davis Drive 1-174 | Newmarket, ON L3Y 7V1 CA
Unsubscribe | Update Profile | Constant Contact Data Notice