See something, say something: why speaking up can change the world of work

“Everything seemed to happen when you were looking the other way” – Pat Cadigan

You know that instance where you’ve observed or heard something that is just not right and you have a strong internal or external emotional response? All of a sudden you freeze up and hear a voice telling you to ‘look the other way and don’t put yourself in the firing line’.

The easy path is to keep your distance or bite your tongue rather than step into someone else’s business and put yourself at risk.

Why do we choose to look the other way in the workplace even when we know that ethically or morally it is the wrong thing to do?

Is it related to our survival instincts kicking in to ensure we don’t get taken out, negatively impact on our career prospects, face alienation or lose our place in the hierarchy?

Perhaps it’s just easier to accept ‘that’s the way it is around here’ and justify behaviours that are unacceptable to go about the business of self-preservation?

After all, didn’t you hear as a youngster that ‘snitches get stitches’? Perhaps we’re still carrying that schoolyard line around in the workplace and there are far worse consequences to us personally if we engage in the process of whistleblowing and end up with a trip to the ‘sick bay’ for a quick and painful surgical procedure, or even worse get so badly injured that we don’t recover.

Why don’t we step up?

In her book Willful Blindness, author Margaret Heffernan asks a really interesting question:

Why do we ignore the obvious?

Heffernan goes on to say that perhaps it’s related to our humans hardwiring for belonging and that in fact ‘the carrot of belonging and the stick of exclusion are powerful enough to blind ourselves to the consequences of our actions’.

Heffernan cites many well-known corporate, institutional and social examples where humans have ‘looked away’ such as Enron, The Grenfell Towers, 9/11, Bernie Madoff, The GFC as well as some common practices we have all experienced such as bullying and harassment.

Bullying and harassment is such a hot topic right now and there are more examples of humans courageously speaking up and choosing not to look the other way because it’s easier to do so.

There’s no doubt that with each instance of speaking up comes a level of personal risk, however, we must also consider what the rewards are for the greater good of doing so.  Isn’t this the essence of what leadership is about after all? Taking some personal risk in a situation where you are in the service of others, or maybe in the service of yourself.

Why you should speak up

Why should you not look away but choose to speak up on the topic of bullying and harassment or any other contentious but personally risky topic? There’s a myriad of reasons and some damning statistics on how prevalent this is in the workplace, and how it impacts negatively on humans and workplaces.

The Workplace Bullying Institute released a report in 2017 with some alarming statistics on bullying.

61 per cent of bullies are bosses who operate alone.

61 per cent of employees are aware of abusive conduct in the workplace.

19 per cent have experienced it and another 19% have witnessed it.

29 per cent of victims remain silent.

65 per cent of bullied employees lose their jobs.

80 per cent of women bully other women.

Here is why stepping in and choosing not to be wilfully blind can benefit the workplace:

Redefine and Set The New Standard for Leadership

What’s that saying about ‘what we are prepared to accept determines the baseline for our leadership behaviours?’ Leadership isn’t about titles, but more about actions and activities. By speaking up, although it may be risky, you are setting a new standard and redefining what leadership is in your workplace. Don’t wait for those with the fancy title to ‘lead’ as they may in fact be the ones who have the most to lose so looking away keeps them safe from a higher magnitude of personal risk.

Role Models Give Others Strength to Follow

Just imagine that there are many who look away because they are fearful of the personal consequences of speaking up. These followers are looking for role models, and once the role models appear the followers get onboard. This becomes a movement and when done with good intention, quickly changes the ‘way we do things around here’. There are many examples of the courageous act of speaking up that has then resulted in others coming forward with their own stories.

Shine the Light on The Behaviour

Those who bully and harass are experts at keeping their behaviour at times done in such a subtle way out of the limelight and almost in the shadows. These shadows must have a spotlight shined right on them as you see it happen and call them for what they are. No doubt this can be risky, but the rewards of shining the light will have the perpetrator thinking twice about their actions. They see the shadow as their safety net and it must be taken away from them.

Finally, this topic is not one to step into in a naïve way

The consequences of speaking up may result in personal risk and you might end up with some stitches but think about the long-term benefits in redefining leadership behaviours, creating a movement and bringing those who practice in the shadows into the spotlight.

The world of work needs you to find your voice.

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