By Kate McGuire
Speaking and listening are personal and organisational imperatives, and the consequences of conversational habits can be profound, far-reaching and potentially highly damaging.
This was the view offered by Professor Megan Reitz of Hult Ashridge Business School, opening this year’s Coaching At Work conference, where she outlined the findings of her latest research, ‘Speaking Truth to Power’.
Reitz’s research shows that 8% of people know something that would harm their organisation if it came out, yet have not spoken up. Some 38% don’t offer ideas they believe could improve their organisation’s performance.
Reitz believes it is important to pay attention both to relational conversations and the systemic context in which they occur: how people listen to each other at work and in coaching conversations; what gets said and what gets silenced; who gets listened to, and why.
Using the TRUTH framework (Trust, Risk, Understanding, Titles, How-to) Reitz invited conference attendees to examine what’s going on in the conversations they experience or have relayed to them by clients. What levels of trust exist and what influences it? How risky is it to say certain things or to challenge key individuals? Speaking and listening are political acts and it’s crucial to understand the power dynamics at play in conversations. Learning how to speak up, or listen, in a manner appropriate to the circumstances, is key to being heard or being able to listen to what’s really being said.
Reitz also identified some of the habitual traps that can inhibit conversations and understanding. These include assuming that someone else will speak up, that no one will listen if we try, and not understanding that we might be seen as scary by those we are attempting to converse with.
Reitz identified the need to develop “meta awareness”: the ability to spot habits so coaches can make changes in their own conversational habits, as well as supporting their clients to examine at a deeper level what might be influencing their relationships and, ultimately, their personal success at work.