Do You Feel Silenced at Work? 

Do you feel silenced at work?

Silenced by your boss, peers, or even direct reports? Even when you’re an accomplished professional, at the top of your field, you can still end up feeling silenced by the people around you.

Perhaps you don’t feel this way, but it’s my hunch that someone who is working with you is not feeling heard or thoughtfully responded to.

Can you identify that person? How can you be an ally to that person?

Here are 3 things you can do to help their voice be heard:

• Amplification – if someone says something in a meeting, take it on and refer back to that person, for example, “I’m so glad Jo mentioned that this is really important and I think we should focus on it.”
• Bring side conversations that you have with that person into the meeting, with their permission, of course, and with a mention of their name.
• Offer an understanding ear by telling them that you miss hearing their voice in meetings, that you really value what they have to say, and that you want to know if there is any way that you can help them bring their voice more into the workplace and help them problem solve.

Think about who might be silenced at work inside your organization and see if you can find a way to be helpful to them.

Learn more about amplifying voices on your team.