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?
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.
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...
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.
Great point Peter, content time and place, and if there is no Value, save your thoughts until have something that will bring value. Saving Changes...
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
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...
Amany NuseibehSpeaker, Global Leader | Optimal ConsultingSydney, Nsw, Australia
Thank you John for this important question.
We all need to be true to our values while understanding the context, the environment and the likely impact of speaking up. What we say and how we say it, when and to whom might make all the difference. At the end of the day, we are trying to instill a change - that might take time, effort and ability to influence decision makers. Sometimes, in a safe environment, asking permission to be the "Devil's advocate" could bring other perspectives to the table. Other times, we might look for who could influence the decision makers to change their opinion, or pay attention to their blind spots. There are times, where weighing all options, and being through a few influencing alternatives might result in no change. Assessing the risk of both speaking and or staying quiet - the overall impact is critical to the next step.
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1 reply by Peter Rapin
Dec 07, 2020 10:58 AM
Peter Rapin
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The "devil's advocate" role has to be played very carefully. A person in power can be intimidating and the process can shut down. A junior person may be ignored serving no purpose. Generally the "devil's advocate" represents negativity and creates an atmosphere of confrontation and conflict.
In my opinion everyone should have equal opportunity to express their thoughts - in support or otherwise. The person playing the DA role may be suppressing one of the best solutions. Alternatively a person supporting a position may be sitting on the best criticism or counterpoint.
Nothing beats honesty
Saving Changes...
Peter RapinSubject Matter Expect; Project Delivery| Independent ConsultantOntario, Canada
Dec 06, 2020 7:31 PM
Replying to Amany Nuseibeh
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Thank you John for this important question.
We all need to be true to our values while understanding the context, the environment and the likely impact of speaking up. What we say and how we say it, when and to whom might make all the difference. At the end of the day, we are trying to instill a change - that might take time, effort and ability to influence decision makers. Sometimes, in a safe environment, asking permission to be the "Devil's advocate" could bring other perspectives to the table. Other times, we might look for who could influence the decision makers to change their opinion, or pay attention to their blind spots. There are times, where weighing all options, and being through a few influencing alternatives might result in no change. Assessing the risk of both speaking and or staying quiet - the overall impact is critical to the next step.
The "devil's advocate" role has to be played very carefully. A person in power can be intimidating and the process can shut down. A junior person may be ignored serving no purpose. Generally the "devil's advocate" represents negativity and creates an atmosphere of confrontation and conflict.
In my opinion everyone should have equal opportunity to express their thoughts - in support or otherwise. The person playing the DA role may be suppressing one of the best solutions. Alternatively a person supporting a position may be sitting on the best criticism or counterpoint.
Nothing beats honesty Saving Changes...
Albert AgbemenuManaging Director| Seag Focus Ghana LtdAccra, Ghana
When you see something, you must definitely say something else you live with the regret of not saying anything when it was needed.
I have found myself in this situation a lot of times, especially because of the environment within which I work (construction and mining). In this environment, seeing something and not saying anything could lead to accidents which sometimes are fatal or other times causing destruction of the environment. We do not only have to speak up when we identify things that could be negative to the project but also the positives as well. Speaking to the positives definitely lead to continuous improvement of processes/systems. Similarly, speaking to the negatives also lead to corrective actions. So, as you see, you must by all means say something when you see something. The only issue here is; how do you communicate what you intend to say? Doing this within the confines of the PMI Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct, makes it very safe and you would not need to be bothered about which environment you are in. It surely will be safe everywhere…
Let’s keep talking and saying something when we have to…
