Lisa Earle McLeod* says speaking up at meetings can be scary for junior employees — yet failure to do so may be keeping fresh ideas and insights from coming to fruition.
I started my career as a wide-eyed sales rep. When it came time to attend my first sales meeting, I was equal parts nervous and excited.
Our meeting kicked off with the head of customer experience for a big retail grocery chain talking about how they were going to create a next-level experience for shoppers.
They told us: “Our goal is to get our target customer (mums of young children) to spend more time in the store.”
As they displayed the beautiful new deli, the wide aisles, and the huge baby section, I found myself thinking: “Aren’t they going to do anything about the bathrooms?”
At that time I called on grocery store managers, and had been in and out of thousands of grocery store bathrooms.
I’d watched mothers try to change their baby on a sink countertop or keep a wiggly toddler from touching anything.
I carried disinfectant in my purse, because the bathrooms were so consistently awful.
In that moment (the early ‘90s) I thought to myself of course the people in charge are going to address the bathrooms.
They’re probably just not saying anything because it’s so obvious.
The customer point blank told us: “If you have more ideas tell us,” but I didn’t speak up. That was wrong.
In fact, no one had thought to re-do the bathrooms. A decade passed before it was addressed.
The fear of speaking up, especially in big meetings, keeps millions of ideas and insights from ever coming to fruition.
It’s not an uncommon challenge, but it is solvable. Here are three tips to help.
Start small
If the thought of raising your hand in front of several hundred senior leaders is enough to make your stomach churn, start smaller.
Make a practice of sharing your insights with your boss, your peers, or newer teammates.
You’re more likely to get a warm response and build your well of confidence for higher-stakes situations.
You can also get practice outside of your organisation, like virtual toastmasters, social groups, or mentoring circles.
Making a habit of contributing will radiate into your workplace.
Get rejected
For many, the fear of speaking up is deeply rooted in the fear of rejection.
As if somehow, only perfectly formed ideas deserve to be voiced.
In creative spaces, like marketing or design, that thought is accepted as the nonsense it is.
Iterating and collaborating are essential. The creative process is messy; full of ideas that are tossed out, transformed, and born again.
To overcome a fear of rejection, seek environments where you can be (kindly) rejected.
Get yourself used to feedback. Offer to participate in (or host) brainstorming sessions or just bounce ideas around with a friend over coffee.
You might be surprised how not-that-devastating it is to hear someone respond to your idea with an “eh”.
Or, how your initial idea could jump-start an even better group idea.
The more comfortable you become in these lower-stakes rejections, the more willing you are to toss your hat in the ring during big conversations.
Champion someone else
I’ve long written about the core human need to make a difference, to have an impact.
We instinctually want to make a difference for someone other than ourselves.
When I was afraid to speak up at that sales meeting, it was because I was focused on what might happen to me (rejection).
Not what might happen to someone else (finally, a decent bathroom).
If self-doubt is keeping you quiet, try looking outside of yourself.
Could clients be helped with your new idea? Could people in your organisation be more effective if you spoke up? Is there a risk that others might not see?
Last month we celebrated Martin Luther King Jr. Day in my country; I read one of his most widely shared quotes:
“Life’s most persistent and urgent question is: What are you doing for others?”
Changing a diaper in a dirty bathroom pales in comparison to the widespread, grave injustices in our world.
Yet, there is a thread of truth between the two: Nothing changes until someone speaks up.
*Lisa Earle McLeod is the leadership expert best known for creating the popular business concept Noble Purpose. She is the author of Selling with Noble Purpose and Leading with Noble Purpose. She can be contacted at mcleodandmore.com.
This article first appeared at mcleodandmore.com.
