Have you ever stopped to consider that your speaking up
could mean the difference between life and death or between success
and failure? As 'the Voice of Leadership Specialist', Sally Mabelle, highlights
in the following article, you should never underestimate the power
of assertiveness.
How authentic and open are you in your interactions with others?
Do you avoid conflict or telling people things you think they won't
want to hear? Have you considered the high cost of your lack of
assertiveness?
Counting the Cost
Assertiveness is not a skill to take lightly. It is critically
important to the outcome of many situations at work and at home.I
can remember one time when my failure to speak up cost me $80,000.
This could have easily been avoided had I been more assertive when
I had the chance.
In 1991, my husband at the time and I had sold our home in
Colorado and we were looking for ways to invest the profit we'd
made.We were approached by a 'financial advisor', then our
'friend', who introduced us to a man who wanted to borrow $80,000
to invest in his bagel-making business. The return on our
investment would be 15% interest, and the bagel maker would start
paying us back within a couple months. The deal looked secure
on paper, but when I met the bagel maker himself, I had an
intuition that something was 'off'. I didn't speak up because
I felt pressure from my advisor and husband to sign the loan
papers.
In the end, we did not get back a single cent of the $80,000 and
learned an expensive lesson. As a result I have learned to risk
being more assertive where I sense a problem, even if it is
inconvenient and uncomfortable for others.
Speaking Out to Bosses
The cost of not speaking up can be even more dramatic: it can
mean the difference between life and death. Take the example of
plane crashes cited by Malcolm Gladwell in his recent book, Outliers: The
Story of Success.
Gladwell cites three examples of how failure to communicate
assertively cost hundreds of people their lives. You don't have to
be a pilot or co-pilot to get the point that it is critical for us
to pay more attention to the clarity and directness of our
communication.
The plane crash incidents involved three airlines: Avianca
Airlines (from Colombia), Korean Air, and Air Florida. All of these
tragedies could have been prevented had the co-pilot been more
assertive with the Captain and/or the Air Traffic Controller.
In all these incidents, the co-pilot only hinted that there was a
major problem, hoping that the Captain would understand what he
meant.
All three crashes were due largely to someone's hesitancy to
speak strongly to a superior. Jeffrey S. Nielsen, former executive
consultant for Fortune 100 companies, in his book The Myth of
Leadership, cites research demonstrating people's tendency
to 'soften the truth' when delivering bad news to anyone they
perceive as a superior.
Life and Death
Let's take a look at an actual dialogue of one of the crashes
recorded on the black box recovered after the plane crash. In 1982,
Air Florida crashed into the icy Potomac River right outside
Washington, DC shortly after take-off. The co-pilot tried three
times to tell the captain that the plane had a dangerous amount of
ice on the wings, but unfortunately he only hinted at the issue and
did not highlight his concerns with assertiveness.
Co-pilot: Look how the ice is just hanging on his, ah,
back... back there, see that? (Presumably he was referring to
one of the engineers getting the plane ready for takeoff.)
The Captain does not respond. Then, a bit later:
Co-pilot: See all those icicles on the back there and
everything?
Again, the Captain does not respond. Then:
Co-pilot: Boy, this is a... this is a losing battle
here on trying to de-ice those things, it gives you a false feeling
of security, that's all that does.
At last, when they get clearance for takeoff, the co-pilot
strengthens his communication from a hint to a suggestion.
Co-pilot: Let's check those [wing] tops again, since we've
been sitting here a while.
Captain: (seeming to ignore the first officer) I think we
get to go here in a minute.
The final words of the first officer just before the plane
plunges into the Potomac River, is not a hint, not a suggestion,
and not a command - it's a fact - and this time the captain
responds:
Co-pilot: "Larry, we're going down, Larry."
Captain: "I know it."
Fortunately, in the past 15 years, airlines have taken the issue
of non-assertiveness seriously and created new training programs
designed to teach co-pilots to speak up and challenge a pilot when
they think something is dangerous. They are required to seize
control of the plane if the Captain ignores them.
Airlines now typically split flying duties equally between
captain and co-pilot. Research has shown that crashes are far more
likely when the captain is in the 'flying seat'. Planes are safer
when the less experienced pilot is flying, because it means the
second pilot isn't going to be afraid to speak up!
So, how does this scenario relate to you?
Are you satisfied with your current level of
assertiveness? If not, what will you do to improve
it? If you ARE happy with how assertive are you, how
confident are you that those who work with you will speak up if
there is a crucial situation that needs strong action? If the
answer is less than 'very confident', what can you do to support
them speaking up?
Remember, assertiveness is one skill could make a dramatic
difference in your life and work. Here's to you speaking up and
expressing your 'voice of leadership'.
Acknowledgement
For more articles to strengthen your 'voice of leadership', visit Sally's site or if you prefer to
listen, go to her podcasts on iTunes or on the Women's
Information Network.
Sally's next course on Powerful Presentations for Leaders is at
AUT Manukau Campus on 10th August 2011.
Sally Mabelle is a specialist in helping people to express their
authentic 'voice of leadership'. She is passionate about creating
culture of interpersonal excellence, trust, and collaboration. She
currently works inhouse with businesses, teaches at The University
of Auckland, and runs courses in association with AUT Centre for
Innovative Leadership.