It’s not always leaders who avoid difficult conversations. Employees also avoid by not telling their leaders the truth. A 2023 survey by SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management) found that 58% of employees avoid giving honest feedback to their bosses because they don’t believe it will make a difference. Fear of retaliation, power dynamics or simply not wanting to “rock the boat” prevents employees from speaking up. What if you could get inside the minds of your employees? Here are four things your employees won’t tell you, but I will.
You’re confusing me
CEOs at fast-growing startups change priorities weekly or monthly. One week, the priority is sales; the next, it’s product development. When employees work hard on initiatives only to see them abandoned without explanation, they lose motivation, and chaos quickly follows.
Change is inevitable, but whiplash isn’t. If employees don’t see the logic behind shifts, they disengage and lose meaning. Employees don’t need all the details, but they do need to understand why changes are happening. A study by McKinsey found that employees who find meaning in their work are five times more likely to stay engaged.
What to do: Take a short pause before making significant changes. When you feel the need for a quick change, sleep on the decision, then write it out. You may feel like there’s not enough time, but that’s just your dopamine begging for a hit. Consider the time you’ve wasted over again by changing direction. Put your new decision in writing first to sell yourself on the idea. Then, after writing, and only after writing, make your announcement to employees. You’ll eventually see the pattern and realize you’ve been thinking out loud instead of strategizing.
You don’t keep promises
Operations managers frequently tell employees, “If you work hard, you’ll get promoted.” Unfortunately, the promise is easily forgotten, giving opportunities to external new hires. Over time, employees stop trusting leadership and performance plummets.
Broken promises destroy credibility and negatively affect engagement. Disengaged employees cost companies up to $550 billion per year.
What to do: Let your word be golden. If you make a promise, even as simple as “Let’s do lunch” or “I’ll get back to you next week,” write a note in your diary or calendar so that you follow through. If circumstances change, explain why and acknowledge the gap.
You’re being manipulated
Often a company’s leadership team is filled with senior-level executives that seem to always agree with the CEO. When senior leaders lack the courage to challenge potentially weak decisions, failure follows. Employees and those on the front lines are rarely asked for their insights, and they see the mistakes coming, but the culture prevents them from sharing their knowledge.
Leaders who surround themselves with “yes” people miss critical insights, and employees lose respect for leaders who are ego-driven. A culture of avoidance prevents honest conversations.
What to do: Encourage respectful dissent. Remember that disagreement doesn’t ruin relationships; it’s disrespect that does. Build conflict capacity to stop defending and start listening; to stop being so sure and instead become more curious. Set up an anonymous suggestion box or survey and report back to the entire team to build more transparency and trust.
I want you to see me
When I was a blue-collar factory worker, my boss had three sayings for everything: “That’s just the way it is; There’s nothing I can do, and I didn’t ask you to work here.” I remember having multiple ideas to streamline productivity or reduce safety risks, but my boss seemed unapproachable. These situations happen across all industries and in white collar careers and blue-collar jobs.
Employees want to contribute beyond their essential job duties. Employee contributions can contribute to cost savings and innovation.
For example Audi saved $133 Million in 2017 due to taking employee suggestions at their plants in Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm.
Diageo, a multinational beverages giant, ran an employee ideas campaign asking its 35,000 employees to share productivity-boosting ideas. They called the campaign “If it was My Money,” creating a sense of ownership over company goals, saving them $7.8 million through efficiency ideas.
Employees often have the best ideas — but they won’t always volunteer them for fear of being rejected or dismissed.
Every leader has blind spots that could be minimized by openly initiating strategic conversations at every level within the organization. According to Gallup, companies that actively seek employee feedback experience 14% higher productivity and 21% higher profitability. If you want to change the culture, you have to change the conversation.
Opinions expressed by SmartBrief contributors are their own.
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