#178: Building Fearless Organizations
Good morning
Last week’s letter focused on a key moment of leadership displayed by Springbok rugby captain, Siya Kolisi.
Enrique López Ponce, Nordex Group’s Vice President of the International Business Development Division, and Alfie Jay, managing director of Algoa FM, pointed me to an important fact that I had missed.
Kolisi had not been asked the question, the coach had, nevertheless, he spoke up.
His leadership was both in how he answered and in the fact that he did. He could have kept quiet. He didn’t. He stepped into the moment and in doing so made his leadership values visible to the world and to his team.
It struck me that there was, in all likelihood, another layer beneath that moment, that not only had Kolisi but the team’s culture is one in which speaking up is accepted and encouraged.
/ strategy
In her book, The Fearless Organization, Harvard Business School professor Amy Edmondson notes that “No one is fired for silence. The instinct to play it safe is powerful” and “Silence is instinctive and safe; it offers self-protection benefits, and these are both immediate and certain.”
Edmondson reviews a series of case studies in which companies fail; what unites them are cultures in which people did not feel safe enough to speak up.
Edmondson’s argument is simple and powerful. The instinct to silence is strong. You need to actively create a culture in which people are encouraged to express their views. She says that doing so means you get “early information about shortcomings (which) can nearly always mitigate the size and impact of future, large-scale failure.”
She reminds us “One of the most important things to keep in mind, wherever you work, is that the failure of an employee to speak up at a crucial moment cannot be seen. This is true whether that employee is on the front lines of customer service or sitting next to you in the executive board room. And because not offering an idea is an invisible act, it’s hard to engage in real-time course correction. This means that psychologically safe workplaces have a powerful advantage in competitive industries.”
I doubt we would have noticed if Siya hadn’t spoken up but look at what happened because he did. He inspired his team and the world. We’re all better leaders because of that moment.
Edmondson cautions us that it is pretty easy to create an unsafe environment, saying that “Leaders who welcome only good news create fear that blocks them from hearing the truth” and that “A culture of silence is not only one that inhibits speaking up but one in which people fail to listen thoughtfully to those who do speak up – especially when they are bringing unpleasant news.”
She also observes that “Many managers confuse setting high standards with good management”.
Good management enables the consistent achievement of better standards. Setting goals is the easiest part of the process.
Anyone who has spent time in the corporate world could easily imagine Siya saying “Yep, I told Manie, next week he has to get a 100% or else”.
I doubt we’d have even blinked, but we wouldn’t have been inspired.
To build a culture of open conversation and collaboration, first model it. Be sure to listen. Demonstrate that you have listened by building on what the person has said to you. Ask open-ended questions with genuine curiosity. Learn about the people you work with. Understand their stories.
Then, set clear expectations for work outcomes. Enable people on your team to use their strengths. Help them grow. Be predictable. Do what you say you will and by when you said you would.
Recognise when people have made a positive contribution and tell them specifically what they did and how it made a difference.
Do this and you’ll create a safer environment. And a safer environment will create the space for people to bring their best selves.
(You can read more about Edmonson’s work here. And, in his autobiography Rise, Kolisi sets out nine leadership principles, you can find them here).
// self
Wanting to be able to share more insight with you, I have now started to read Rassie: Stories of Life and Rugby by Springbok Director of Rugby, Rassie Erasmus.
I haven’t gotten far enough to share much substance yet. However, I thought that these comments would resonate with many of you.
Erasmus writes “People think I’m extroverted, but I’m not. I find social occasions difficult, and I’m uncomfortable engaging with people I don’t know. When I speak at news conferences, I’m nervous and way out of my comfort zone” and goes onto say “I speak my mind when I believe I can make a difference. I express my view when I think people may otherwise misunderstand what’s going on. I put myself out there”.
It’s quite remarkable. Here is someone widely regarded both as a leading proponent of his craft and as an outspoken commentator saying that he’s nervous and out of his comfort zone in news conferences. Underneath the success is a human who has fears. This is true for all of us and for everyone we meet.
I don’t know this to be true, but it is not hard to imagine him saying to Siya “Always speak your mind when you believe you can make a difference”. That’s what he did.
/// soul
Today is Heritage Day in South Africa. I thought that these may help you deepen your connection to our country.
JM Coetzee is one of two South African Nobel Laureates in Literature (the other is Nadine Gordimer). This New York Times article is a great guide to his work.
Abdulrazak Gurnah, another African Laureate, is not South African nor does he write about this country, nevertheless, I love this post about the books that have shaped his writing.
Gurnah’s work explores the links between the African East Coast and the counties of the Indian Ocean (of which South Africa is one). He shows that our heritages are woven from many strands. In this selection, he shows that in the act of claiming him to be ours we simultaneously connect to other worlds, that heritages are always becoming, are never fixed, nor complete, they’re there to be enriched.
Closer to South Africa, The Ubuntu Archives are a treasure for their reshaping and retelling of a richer South African history, and even closer to my Cape Town home, Traci Kwaai’s The Fisher Child provides constant illumination into centuries of life on the Southern Peninsula.
All the best
Karl
PS: Although we never doubt that a sports team should have a coach, it isn’t as given that we should do so for our businesses. Likewise, whilst most of us will happily sign up to get a tennis coach or a personal trainer, we’re often a touch hesitant to get a coach for our professional lives. For this reason, I offer free discovery sessions to those interested in coaching for their business or professional lives. It gives you the opportunity to experience what impact it could have. You can book one here. If you’d like to know how people experience working with me, read the recommendations section of my LinkedIn profile.
PPS: We are moving home next weekend so I am taking a little break. I’ll see you again on 15 October.