Speak Up – Say what needs to be said and hear what needs to be heard, reviewed

By @SimonCocking review of Speak Up – Say what needs to be said and hear what needs to be heard   by Professor Megan Reitz and John Higgins available from Amazon here.

What you say or don’t say in a conversation can have life-defining consequences on ourselves and those around us. Speak Up helps you to navigate power differences so you can speak up with confidence and enable others to find their voice in a way that will be heard.

Our day-to-day conversations define how we see ourselves and how we’re seen.  The choices we make about what to say and who to say it to are decisive factors in whether we get promoted, or side-lined. Whether we steer clear of trouble, or find ourselves in it up to our necks. With daily scandals hitting the headlines and the continuous need to innovate to survive, creating a more honest, open, fulfilling and productive workplace has never been more pressing.

Our conversational choices harness the ideas and intelligence of the people we work with, or result in that revolutionary concept never seeing the light of day. They make us feel proud or ashamed of ourselves for what we have or have not said. They cause us to flourish and feel motivated, or result in us feeling dissatisfied and resentful. 

Speak Up helps you to navigate power differences and speak up with confidence in a way that you will be heard. But it’s no good speaking up if there isn’t anyone listening so we also help you to understand how your power enables others to speak up and how it might silence them.

This is an important topic, and often one where too little is said too late, which often seriously negative consequences. This book addresses the important of this issue and the need to try and do things differently. It also aims to discuss and cover a wide range of situations where this need may arise. The question is then whether the people reading this book will then feel able and empowered to do so. Frequently the ability to speak, or not do so, is a reflection of wider power struggles taking place in the work place or other environments where it is an issue or challenge.

As the authors explain “Make sure the unpopular voice gets heard – and take responsibility for making sure it’s heard well. Coach and support the person to land their ideas so they are seen as constructive rather than destructive. Don’t get seduced into scapegoating the naysayer, because as the team leader you’re the one that sets the tone. Use your power as a force for good in the team, don’t pretend you don’t have it

Create time and space for REAL debate to happen – use your authority to become the naysayer if the conversation lacks opposition, or authorise others to play the role of the devil’s advocate. Notice how over-packed agendas and the need to be busy creates superficial focus and consensus

See the positive of a complaining culture – people who complain can still be committed to the team; they may still care. They may well be the ones who give a damn and aren’t willing to become actors playing a role, going through the motions.”

[See more in their guest post for Irish Tech News here].

If you are one of those people who finds it hard to articulate issues that are of importance, both personally and for the wider well being of the greater good then this could be a useful guide for you. See more on Megan Reitz’s TEDx talk here also.

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