Speak Up or Walk Away?

What inspires me today is people who speak up and tell the truth, like Laurie Ruettimann over at Punk Rock HR, my manager, several of my coworkers, and even my teenage daughter, who very seriously requested the other day that I make an attempt not to be so noisy as to wake her up before 7am on weekdays.

I struggle daily with when to speak up and when to keep my mouth shut and move on, but lately I'm becoming more and more grateful for employees, family, and friends who speak up, and I'm learning to do more of it myself. Those are the people I can count on to:

• Come to me directly when they have a problem with me or something I'm doing rather than complaining, gossiping behind my back, becoming passive aggressive, or just plain being angry with me without me knowing why.
• Come to me or someone else only once or twice for coaching, feedback, or advice, and then take care of their issue without coming to me multiple times to complain about the same issue and why it's someone else's fault that things aren't going well for them.
• Take responsibility for their own experience and do something about it rather than being angry, disengaged, or quitting before trying to work something out.
• Take care of performance issues with their co-workers and direct reports before they decide it's too late and ask me how to fire someone who has no idea what they are doing wrong.
• Fix problems in the company so that we can produce better results.

Speaking up takes courage, and in turn creates the trust that allows for that courage to spread throughout an organization.

I've had schools, jobs, organizations, and people in my past that I've just walked away from without speaking up, and some who've walked away from me. Lately, I've been going back to some of them and apologizing--telling them that I promise not to play the ultimate trump card and just walk away again without saying anything and trying to work it out.

What's possible in your life if only you had the courage to speak up? What is the cost of not speaking up?

Start with a simple act of courage today. It could be returning your Starbucks latte that doesn't taste right, or telling your co-worker that their B.O. is driving you crazy. Whatever it is, take responsibility for one thing that isn't working for you today. You might find that courage gives you access to something new and exciting. Let me know how it goes.