Idea in Brief

The Problem

Leaders try to make it easier for employees to share ideas and concerns—but usually they end up doing the opposite. That’s because they fail to address two big obstacles: a fear of consequences for speaking up and a sense of futility.

The Stakes

When people do speak freely, employee retention goes up and so does financial performance. When people stay mum, mistakes and bad decisions continue apace, and many smart ideas never see the light of day.

The Solutions

You can create a more vocal culture in a number of ways. For instance, ask regularly for feedback so that it’s not intimidating to give, be specific about the input you want, tone down the power cues, and establish formal processes for follow-up.

Chances are, your employees are withholding valuable intelligence from you. Maybe it’s about a project that’s gone off track or a manager who’s behaving badly. Or maybe they’re not sharing their thoughts on ways the business could grow its sales or improve operations. No matter how open you are as a manager, our research shows, many of your people are more likely to keep mum than to question initiatives or suggest new ideas at work.

A version of this article appeared in the January–February 2016 issue of Harvard Business Review.