Lu Pillar: Build Trust
Read time: 3 to 4 minutes
IF YOU ONLY DO ONE THING
When someone raises a problem, tell them what will happen next and then close the loop.
People are more likely to keep raising useful information when they can see that speaking up leads somewhere. That gives you a better chance of spotting issues early and keeping the work your team is responsible for on track.
WHAT'S HAPPENING
Your team will decide whether it is worth speaking up based on what happened the last time they or someone else did. They learn that the consequences of speaking up are not always formal. The consequences can include being dismissed, labelled negative, left out of an opportunity or treated differently afterwards.
They also notice when they raise something and never hear what happened. Over time, silence can start to look like agreement. It isn't always. Sometimes people have simply decided there is little value in saying anything. The organisation then finds out later, when the problem is harder and more expensive to fix.
WHAT IT CAN LOOK LIKE
Nobody challenges the decision in the meeting, but concerns appear afterwards in side conversations.
A problem is mentioned once and never raised again.
You hear about an issue through someone other than the person experiencing it.
Someone who used to contribute different views has gone quiet.
Important feedback only appears in anonymous surveys.
WHAT IT COSTS
Problems reach you later, when you have fewer options and fixing them costs more. The risks stay hidden and decisions are made without information that people close to the work already had.
Capable employees may stop contributing ideas or concerns because they don't believe anything useful will happen when they do.
You lose the early warning, not just the conversation.
WHAT THIS ENABLES
If you're already busy, encouraging people to raise more issues can sound like creating more work for yourself.
You are not being asked to solve every problem. You are being asked to support your team, make the right call about what happens next and make sure useful information doesn’t disappear.
Sometimes that means fixing the issue. Sometimes it means delegating it, escalating it, explaining why nothing will change or helping the person work through it themselves.
Supporting your team doesn’t mean taking everything on.
Putting a little more effort into this upfront can make your job easier over time:
Small issues are less likely to become urgent problems that need significant management time.
People close to the work give you information you may not otherwise see.
You can make decisions based on a clearer picture of what is actually happening.
Your team members are more likely to keep contributing ideas, questions, concerns and different views because they can see their input is taken seriously.
People are more willing to use their judgement and take initiative instead of waiting for you to notice and solve everything.
USE THESE WORDS
When someone raises something with you, try saying something like:
“Thanks for raising it. Let me check I've understood you properly: [summarise the issue]. I'm going to [next step], and I'll come back to you by [day/date], even if the answer is that we aren't changing anything.”
Then come back to them. A clear no, with a reason, is still a response. Silence is not.
TRY IT THIS WEEK
Choose one issue someone has already raised with you. Find out what happened. Go back to the person and close the loop.
CHECK IN TWO WEEKS
Look at the concerns or problems raised with you during the fortnight.
How many of those people know what happened next?
That is your measure.
WHEN THIS GUIDE ISN'T ENOUGH
If someone is raising bullying, harassment, discrimination, misconduct, a safety risk, a formal complaint or something affecting their health, use this resource in conjunction with your organisation's formal process and seek appropriately qualified advice.
NEED MORE SUPPORT?
Lu offers two next-step options.
Run It gives teams practical tools to work through the issue themselves.
Embed It provides independent support to understand what is driving the problem, tailor the response and help new practices stick.
