Sometimes, critical information does not get through and disaster happens. It can happen in the cockpit of an airliner, in marriages, in board rooms, and in project teams. Someone sees the danger but is unable to communicate effectively and opportunities are missed, or worse – disaster! Unlike crying wolf (frivolously, with no actual danger of a wolf in sight), in this case there is actual danger, but those who need to hear it do not hear it or do not heed it.
Disaster can happen because of Mitigated Speech – speech that does not meet the occasion because of fear, misplaced respect, power, or failing to take responsibility. Somehow the speaker fails to communicate the danger. The tone, the words, or the timing are not right on the speaker side, and they do not cause a change of course in the listeners.
Malcom Gladwell introduced this concept [1] with his analysis of co-pilots who failed to speak powerfully enough to their captains in critical situations – and Korean Air, in the 90’s, had a string of crashes due to mitigated speech. One of the observations was that junior pilots were “so deferential to the captain that they failed to speak up before it was too late.” [3]
In the Korean air the power differential, and the culture that indulged arrogance over correctness were the problem. In companies it can take other shapes: “this is how we’ve always done it,” or “we have domain knowledge,” or “that’s someone else’s responsibility.”
Obviously, the listener has a part to play in communication. They must not be tone deaf, or blinded by their power or self-righteousness, but here we are focusing on the speaker. How do you deliver critical messages with clear, concise, and powerful style as the situation requires.
Leaders need to listen to subtle messages even if they are not “well,” or “properly,” or “respectfully,” packaged. Subordinates need to have the “courage” to speak about what they see, feel, and perceive. Leaders need to prize accuracy, bluntness, and clarity at least as much as politeness, respect, and deference. Leaders and speakers need the maturity to be forgiving and patient to allow themselves to hear the unpleasant truth.
Does your organizational culture allow speaking truth to power? Do you have the mechanism to do that? Do you have an Andon chord [4] in your organization? How does even Amazon, for example, support speaking truth to power yet fail to heed its own Advice own advice at times?
Related skills:
- Opposites of this skill: Don’t get Wedged, Don’t Cry Wolf.
- Similar to this skill: Andon Cord Culture, Lead with Questions
References:
- [1] Outliers (book): https://amzn.to/4m4kWn0
- [2] https://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/article/130709-asiana-flight-214-crash-korean-airlines-culture-outliers
- [3] https://www.salon.com/2013/07/10/cnn_asks_if_koreas_hierarchical_culture_caused_crash/
- [4] Toyota production system, featured an Andon chord that could be pulled by anyone if they detected a quality problem. https://mag.toyota.co.uk/andon-toyota-production-system/
