The meeting is going well. Everyone seems aligned, and the project leader is ready to move to the discussion point.
There is only one problem: You know the plan won’t work.
Perhaps the timeline ignores an important dependency. The customer data is incomplete. The new process creates a serious burden for employees in the field. Or the group is about to repeat a mistake your team made last year.
You wonder: Should you say something and disrupt the momentum? Or stay quiet, avoid looking negative, and hope someone else raises the issue?
Speaking up is easy when your comment supports the plan. It takes courage to say something when what you’re about to say threatens a deadline, challenges a senior leader, or forces everyone to reconsider a decision they are eager to approve. Particularly, if there’s consensus in the room.
Silence Has a Price too
People often calculate the personal risk of speaking up without calculating the consequences of not doing so.
What happens if the initiative fails and someone later asks, “Did anyone know this could happen?” What happens to the client, the employees, or the company’s reputation? What happens if, as a result of you not speaking up, there’s a negative impact to the bottom line that affects several roles and people get fired? What happens to your credibility if people discover that you had relevant information and chose not to share it?
Research on employee voice shows that psychological safety influences whether people raise concerns. But another factor may be even more important: whether employees believe speaking up will make a difference. One study published in the Academy of Management Journal found that perceived impact explained more of the difference in whether people voiced concerns than psychological safety did. In other words, employees may take the risk when they believe someone will listen and act.
This is why leaders must do more than invite feedback. How they respond teaches everyone in the room whether raising a concern is worthwhile.
Challenge the Plan Without Attacking the People
Timing and language matter. Blurting out, “This is never going to work,” will probably trigger defensiveness, as would any disparaging or discrediting statement you make that affects another colleague. You may be correct and still fail to influence the decision. So, how you speak up matters as much as what you have to say.
Before you speak, organize your concern around three questions:
What have I observed?
Stick to the facts you know. Separate them from assumptions and personal preferences.
What is the potential consequence?
Explain who or what could be affected. Connect the concern to something the organization values, such as safety, revenue, customer trust, employee retention, or regulatory compliance.
What do I recommend?
Offer a next step whenever possible. You may suggest reviewing additional data, consulting an affected team, running a pilot, or allowing more time to evaluate the risk.
Your intervention could sound like this:
“Before we approve the timeline, I’d like us to consider one risk. Our last two regional launches required six weeks of compliance review, and this schedule allows three. Could we ask the compliance team to validate the timeline before we commit to the client?”
That statement disrupts the plan, but it also helps protect it.
The Red Shoe Movement article Speaking Up: Assertiveness in High-Stakes Meetings offers additional language for making your point clearly while protecting your credibility.
Decide where to Raise the Concern
The big meeting is not always the best place to challenge a decision. If your concern involves sensitive information or could embarrass someone publicly, speak privately with the decision-maker beforehand. This gives them time to process the information and adjust the plan without feeling cornered.
If several people share the concern, avoid creating the appearance of an ambush. Decide who has the strongest evidence and who is best positioned to raise the issue. A respected colleague or sponsor may help ensure the message receives serious consideration.
And if you are in a culture where people are repeatedly punished for raising legitimate risks, be strategic. Document what you observed, follow the appropriate reporting channels, and seek advice from someone you trust. Having courage should not require you to ignore the power dynamics around you.
In our article “Career Risk-Taking in Corporations” we are reminded that thoughtful risks can expand our influence. Speaking up is one of those risks and should be carefully considered every time.
Sometimes the most valuable contribution you can make is the sentence that interrupts a smooth meeting and prevents a very difficult one six months later.
