Post by Florence Divet ☀️

Most culture problems aren’t complicated. They’re just tolerated. The rule that makes every other “healthy culture rule” possible is simple: #5 Make it safe to speak up. When people don't feel safe to say the truth… You don’t get the truth. You get polite silence. Then the “surprise” resignation. Then the issue you could’ve fixed months ago. Here’s what "not safe" looks like in teams: - People raise serious issues as jokes. - Feedback waits for 1:1s… then never comes. - Meetings are calm. Corridors are honest. - Everyone agrees in public. Everyone complains in private. The biggest leadership myth is this: “They’d tell me if something was wrong.” No. They’ll tell you when it won’t backfire. When it is 100% safe to speak up. Want a healthier culture? Make it safe to speak up and keep proving it. 4 tiny moves that change everything: 1) Ask better questions “What are we avoiding saying out loud?” beats “Any feedback?” 2) Make your first reaction about curiosity Your first 10 seconds trains the room. “Thank you for raising that. Tell me more.” 3) Reward the signal Bad news is a gift. Disagreement is data. Thank it. Explore it. Fix one piece. Or you’ll only ever hear what’s safe. 4) Close the loop publicly “What we heard. What we’re changing. By when.” Then do it. Nothing kills speaking-up faster than… nothing changing. Culture shifts one moment at a time. One less defensive reply. One public thank-you for uncomfortable truth. One action that proves it was worth saying. ➤ This week: Pick one move and practice it until it becomes second nature. If “everything seems fine”… but resignations keep surprising you: Don’t guess. Measure it. Run a simple team assessment first. It reveals what’s really happening, and help the team choose clear priorities together. I’ve used this with many teams. Most recently, a 9-person team identified three issues, chose one to fix, and realigned in three months. I’ve got two assessment options. DM me TEAM and I’ll recommend the right one for your context. ♻ Repost if you want speaking-up to be normal and safe. ➕ Follow Florence Divet ☀️ for leadership people actually stay for. For more in depth leadership tips, join: bit.ly/InsideOutNL Image credit: Eric Partaker