The Secrets to Developing a Culture of Candor

Virtually everyone agrees that projects benefit significantly when team members and key stakeholders speak up to ask questions, voice concerns (early!), and provide honest feedback. It’s that candid feedback that helps teams arrive at better decisions and sometimes avoid all-out calamity, but the truth is that oftentimes team members (even PMs) don’t feel free to speak up. In most organizations people are hesitant to speak up because they don’t want to make waves, go against the grain, ask “stupid questions”, or be viewed as difficult. Indeed, most organizations don’t have a culture of candor and their projects and project results certainly may suffer as a result. A key challenge that Project Managers and organizational leaders face is how to develop a culture of candor. It’s easy enough to say but hard to do. This presentation shares specific techniques that project managers and team leaders can use to build a culture of candor within the team. We’ll explore best practices that will help leaders not just talk the talk but walk the walk as well with their teams.