One of the biggest blocks to most people stepping into personal leadership and responsibility is that they are so afraid of making mistakes that they won’t take the risk of being responsible and accountable at the same time. Most people inaccurately see responsibility as another way of laying “blame” – or finding who is “at fault” when things go wrong. Combine this with the fear of losing face, and you have people who won’t speak up – even though they know the solution!
Encouraging people to speak up requires building trust and safety. Before people will take the risk of speaking up, they need to know that they won’t be punished for expressing themselves and stating their opinions.
Founder of Goldzone Group and the primary author of Renaissance for Leaders. Harrison’s work focuses on the study of leadership and the conditions that shape human performance and decision-making.