How successful can your team or projects be if you avoid having the difficult conversations regarding perceived sensitive or critical project/team related issues and concerns that could possibly include ethical issues or other conflicts? (The Undiscussables)
How can you encourage more speaking up, open discussions, and listening to each other’s perspectives to create an environment for greater project and team success?
How might we use the four values from our PMI Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct: Responsibility, Respect, Fairness and Honesty to create safer and more trusting environments?
If you have seen others or yourself being treated differently after speaking up, what impact did that have when encountering future issues?
The ability to speak openly depends greatly on the leadership above the PM.
Multiple times, I have been hired into a position in part because I am known as someone who will speak up when most people would rather be invisible. I have had great rapport with senior leadership once they realized that I'm not one to panic and the issues I raise deserve attention or they will be bigger issues later.
On multiple occasions, organizations have restructured with new management coming in that wants Yes-Men rather than open and honest communication. The change in dynamic is immediately noticeable, and I've seen team performance plummet immediately as a result.
I've left organizations like that. I would much rather work in a high performing team where I can point out what's going wrong, than work in a poor performing organization where we try to claim all is well. I've even been offered jobs where others jumped ship before me, and then recruited me to join their new team where my voice would have value.
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1 reply by John Watson
Nov 19, 2020 1:51 PM
John Watson
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Thank you Keith , you gave great examples. You seem to have shown that when speaking up, and speaking well, it can make big differences and most senior leadership appreciates that, or at least the ones, you would rather work in, ME TOO.
This also ties into Kim Scott's concept of Radical Candor. We want teams where folks are willing to challenge directly but to do so with empathy towards those to whom the feedback is directed. However, establishing radical candor within a team is predicated on there being sufficient psychological safety within the team for folks to not fear ridicule for speaking up. Saving Changes...
shreeram madangopalCorporate Trainer, Auditor, Consultant| Independent Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
First and foremost – its not a civilized world. It never has been. Your environment comprises of a group of people. A group is never of people with identical thoughts / needs / minds (otherwise we all would have been robots). A group always comprises of diversity and variety.
To understand this – one must consider the analogy of a Jungle. A jungle wherein you find all kinds of animals – there are lions (willing to roar, will stand for pride, and won’t bother about anything when not hungry), there are fox (get the work done by hook or crook), there are dogs (loyal and obedient to some but will bark at others), there are rats (safety, security and food are equally important), then there are eagles and deers and so on.
Similarly, a group is going to have some introverts, some extroverts, some shy, some bold, some willing-to-take-chances, some wanting stability, some bullies, some attention-seekers, while some craving for faster growth, etc, etc.
However, every individual is going to be at some level in The Maslow’s Pyramid. And each one is going guard his or her goal.
Ethics is not the same as having a difficult conversation.
Conflicts could be confronted and root causes could be investigated/discussed.
Ethics, however, poses more serious questions like “Who is willing to blow the whistle and then get fired?” which then leads to “How much of it is actually true?” and might also trigger the thought of “To what extent can I tolerate?”. Bigger (or richer) the organization – more are the people hired to do the “damage control”. And the techniques and methods to “control this damage” solely depends on those “controllers”.
Sometimes introducing out-of-the-box actions like “Each one helps one” may bring about respect, honesty and fair practices to some extent. Each person helps some new fellow per day or per week. And the one with maximum number of helps given gets rewarded. Or may be the largest helping group (that has come together) gets recognized. Saving Changes...
Thanks John for bringing up such a important topic. I see this important as in the virtual world that we are living in and will continue to live in for the foreseeable future, I see a need to collaborate on a safe ground. For being open we need a place of psychological safety. I trust organizations are working on building this environment. Saving Changes...
Alankar KarpeProject and program management, Speaker and mentor | WiproBangalore, India
Great question! But the answer to this will be “it depends!” People will speak if the environment is safe and it’s the responsibility of power center to make it safe. It’s tagged unsafe if you are treated differently. It take courage and ability to listen to dissent by both leader and team makes the culture of speaking up. Saving Changes...
Mohamed HassanProject Management Consultant, Author and Speaker| LIFELONGKuwait, Kuwait
I feel more comfort when I speak up regardless what are the circumstances, sometimes the team don't appreciate but we have to speak up
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1 reply by John Watson
Nov 19, 2020 2:25 PM
John Watson
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Hello Mohamed,
Thank you!
Is Honesty the best form of kindness, speaking up for what needs to heard, not what is wanted to be heard?
Saving Changes...
Thomas WalentaGlobal Project Economy ExpertHackenheim, Germany
Hi John, my view:
If you observe a behavior and perceive a problem in it, how do you know if speaking up is even the best reaction?
If the drive to speak up is coming from your emotions, you may first want to calm down, understand the situation better (e.g. ask for more background) and then apply your ethical judgement.
If your ethical judgement tells you there is a reason to act, chose the 'best' way and make the decision to act (Rushworth Kidder wrote a book about that: moral courage).
Sometimes there is a time pressure, that is why making these steps above a habit, automate them, can make you to be able to react quickly.
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1 reply by John Watson
Nov 19, 2020 2:00 PM
John Watson
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Hi Thomas,
Thanks for speaking up! Totally agree, the courage to speak up needs to balance with having the courage when not to speak up. Speaking up and speaking well must come at the right time , and not when overly emotionally based. At least not “making Emotional Conversations Emotional” that line is borrowed from Rick Morris
Saving Changes...
Peter RapinSubject Matter Expect; Project Delivery| Independent ConsultantOntario, Canada
The content, the time and the place for speaking up must add value and be presented as such. If you are not adding value you may want to reconsider why you need to speak up.
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1 reply by John Watson
Nov 19, 2020 2:15 PM
John Watson
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Great point Peter, content time and place, and if there is no Value, save your thoughts until have something that will bring value.
John, thank you for raising this question. We all know (well, at least most of us :)) how important is to discuss ethics with our teams. In order to make this discussion natural and based on concrete aspects of the team, I would suggest using the Project Team Ethics Assessment, offered by PMI: https://www.pmi.org/-/media/pmi/documents/...14-4a8dc58758fe
Hello Simona,
Thanks for speaking up, and mentioning this resource, and hope everyone will check out this assessment. This assessment is a great ice breaker for having these difficult and or productive conversations. It can be started as anonymous, and as the results are reviewed it has shown how easily it turns in to a natural and comfortable exchange of ideas and feelings. Saving Changes...
The ability to speak openly depends greatly on the leadership above the PM.
Multiple times, I have been hired into a position in part because I am known as someone who will speak up when most people would rather be invisible. I have had great rapport with senior leadership once they realized that I'm not one to panic and the issues I raise deserve attention or they will be bigger issues later.
On multiple occasions, organizations have restructured with new management coming in that wants Yes-Men rather than open and honest communication. The change in dynamic is immediately noticeable, and I've seen team performance plummet immediately as a result.
I've left organizations like that. I would much rather work in a high performing team where I can point out what's going wrong, than work in a poor performing organization where we try to claim all is well. I've even been offered jobs where others jumped ship before me, and then recruited me to join their new team where my voice would have value.
Thank you Keith , you gave great examples. You seem to have shown that when speaking up, and speaking well, it can make big differences and most senior leadership appreciates that, or at least the ones, you would rather work in, ME TOO. Saving Changes...
