Why you need to speak up more often
Jodi Glickman
CEO & Founder, Keynote Speaker, Harvard Biz Writer, LinkedIn Learning Instructor, Entrepreneur, TEDx'r, Author
Welcome to the launch of my weekly newsletter! I am SO glad (flattered, honored, the whole deal) you’re here to start this journey with me. Each week I’m going to do my very best to come to you with powerful content designed to help you Level Up in 2022. Whether you’re looking to gain more visibility, tackle a meaningful challenge, transition into a new role — I’ll share my best thinking around how to achieve your goals and amplify your impact at work (and on the world around you!) Take what works, let me know what doesn’t, ask questions, share stories, push back (nicely puh-lease, let’s be kind to each other)—this if for YOU. Let’s roll…
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When I ask a [Zoom] room full of young, talented, ambitious professionals (or even jaded, time-tested execs) why we don’t speak up when we’re in a meeting and we have something to say, the answer is always the same. And I mean always.
Fear.
Fear of sounding dumb.
Fear of saying the wrong thing.
Fear of saying the right thing the wrong way.
Fear of being mocked. ridiculed. challenged. ignored.
Those fears are scary. They are real. I do not for one second mean to minimize them. And yet…
The lesser considered question is this: what’s the cost of not speaking up? Of not getting our voices heard?
Missed opportunity.
Missed visibility.
Missed credibility.
Missed growth. learning. impact.
And that’s just the cost to us. What about the cost to our organizations? The stakes couldn’t be higher. We know for certain that diversity outperforms homogeneity. Conflict of opinion and perspective leads to better outcomes. Diversity makes us smarter, collectively.
Which means that you owe it to yourself (and to your colleagues / organizations) to get in the habit of speaking up. Regularly. Often. A lot.
So that we get used to hearing your voice. So that we expect to hear your voice. So that when you do speak up, we’re not surprised, or taken aback. We’re not listening for every nuance or ready to jump in with a “gotcha” because you said something that was, well, not brilliant. We become accustomed to you participating actively in discussions. We get used to hearing you and your ideas. And therefore, we (your colleagues) don’t judge everything you say with a heightened sense of weightiness or awareness. We simply learn to expect you to contribute. Because you’ve trained us that this is what you do and this is who you are.
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And because this is also true: You have perspective.
And Insight.
And Wisdom.
And Background knowledge.
And Experience.
By the very definition of you being you—and you being different from your colleagues, you make every conversation richer by taking part in it.
You have value and you are of value.
And so, here is the secret to speaking up: reps. Yes, reps (like gym reps). Speaking up more often so that you get in the habit of hearing yourself speak, and so that you lower the stakes of individual conversations. In mathematical terms, the logic is simple. If you speak up once a month, you have only 12 opportunities in a single year to make an impact. If you speak up every (work) day, you have 250 opportunities to be smart, to be memorable, to contribute.
And conversely, if you say something not-so-smart on Wednesday, and I haven’t heard you speak in six-weeks, I might remember it. If you say something not-so-smart on Wednesday but you added value every day before and after, I’ll never remember that particular comment…
LISTEN IN
Take a listen HERE where I share a recent experience where I was the absolute most junior/newest / least influential person in the room; and I had a “good enough” idea that wasn’t rehearsed / well-thought out / proven—yet it was hugely value add. Intrigued?
YOUR TURN
Are you bought in the idea of “getting reps?” Or are you still doubtful? What’s the downside of getting more reps? I can’t think of any, but I’m open to hearing yours. Send me your thoughts or examples HERE of you speaking up and how it played out. Each week, I will include the “best ofs” in future rounds of the newsletter along with a personal shout out to you. AND you’ll be eligible to win a FREE 20 min coaching session.
Stay tuned next week for How to Speak Up in a Meeting
Thanks for being part of my journey, wishing you tons of success on yours!
jodi
Mach2 / PLEX ERP
2yReally helpfull! How many times do we miss the opportunity to contribute to any project just for not feel confident, thinking if what we want to share is not approved for others ?! Like me, right now haha!
teacher trainer chez middle school
3yFirst, thank you for the invitation to your newsletter.💖 Then let me congratulate you. You have very interesting ideas which i really LOVE. I've always spoken my mind at school or later at work . My friends, family and colleagues are SOOOO accustomed to hearing me that sometimes i get frustrated and bored. In some meetings , i find that i'm the only speaker. With time , I didn't like ME. and decided to stop and listen.... guess what .... nothing. In many meetings, people just attend, take recommendations or orders or the new curricula and go. This didn't make me happier nor satisfied... and I got back to OLD ME. Sometimes, one needs to listen to discover new things and new ideas but one needs to speak up , to draw attention to important points, to mistakes, ... it is even better to find someone to back up your views. And it is so refreshing to find your ideas adopted, discussed and why not improved and put into practice. 💡
Instructional Designer, Education Specialist, Vocational Trainer and Assessor
3yWhat a great topic to bring up, Jodi Glickman! I agree that reps are essential to develop the habit, as well as the confidence to speak up in group settings. However, the environment you're in, the workplace culture, the attitudes of others can at times dampen our best efforts. How can we help create and support a workplace culture where everyone is not merely allowed, but actively encouraged to speak up and bring all they are to the table?
Finance Change Manager at Aviva
3yLove this. Having read through this, it really resonated with me. Being relatively new in my role against those who have years of experience, I was shy to say something with the fear of, as you say, sounding dumb. However, the more I’ve done it, the more confident I’ve become in my role. By asking those somewhat silly questions I learn and become more knowledgeable and in fact my questions do provoke interesting debates and have at times prevented things going wrong in releases, as more thorough work was done to ensure that we as a group did the best possible analysis for our customers. Looking forward to reading your next newsletter!
Principal
3yThank you Jodi for the great article. I really enjoyed reading your perspective and the missed opportunities to be heard. All the fears you mention could really hurt someone's confidence and that has happened to me recently. Processing the fear before and after takes time and being able to drum up even more courage to speak up is a learning I am looking forward in your future articles. Great work!