Fear of speaking up: is it national or company culture?

Last week, I held an Executive Roundtable to discuss interculturalism in the maritime industry.?

I invited stakeholders that are actively interested in and involved with the seafarers as I wanted to learn more about the challenges they face, what they do within their organisations to overcome them and share insights and learnings for the advancement of the industry and its professionals.

We discussed the importance of educating our people on the dynamics of different cultures, how to increase their sense of trust and belonging, how to measure the impact and the return on investment (ROI) of soft skills initiatives and more.

For this newsletter, I will analyse one of the main barriers we identified during this discussion.

The fear of speaking up.

I am very familiar with this subject as this is the most common challenge maritime stakeholders report to me regarding different nationals working together, particularly when they have a combination of European and Asian seafarers.

The fear of speaking up can negatively impact the safety of the crew and the vessel, their sense of inclusion and connection with the company, and the overall business performance.

We can only improve something if we can identify it, name it and accept that we can do better.

During the Roundtable and following IMEC's conference in April, it was reported that there is fear from both the employer and the seafarer.

Employers are reluctant to open up a conversation as they fear what may come to the surface, and seafarers are unwilling to speak up as they fear they might be penalised and lose their job.

But since the fear of speaking up is the most common challenge reported by maritime companies, then in that case, this confirms that the same people, who have decision-making authority, are also aware of how important it is to solve it.?

So the question is whether this fear is because of national or company culture.

National culture plays a role in how we behave towards figures of authority. The more hierarchical a culture is, the more people shy away from challenging or questioning their leaders.?

Cultures like the Filipino that pay respect automatically (i.e. the other person doesn't have to earn it first) to a person of higher seniority, people find it disrespectful and insulting to challenge what the latter says.

On the other hand, flat cultures, like the Dutch, welcome and encourage all voices to be heard, regardless of one's position or gender, how old one is etc. In cultures like this, it is believed that the more diverse opinions they have, the better the final decision will be for the group.

Company culture, though, needs to be inclusive and respectful of all the national cultures of their people. That means acknowledging the different approaches to matters such as hierarchy, communication, expected and acceptable behaviour, and, at the same time, finding ways to meet halfway to meet the business goals of the company.

Company culture needs to set the standards of what is acceptable and what is not, the values that the people should stand for and ensure that the stakeholders and leaders lead by example.

Creating a work environment where everyone feels safe to speak up is a journey, but it is one worth taking.

When we have people that feel connected to their employer, that they are not just contract workers but part of the company, and they know that they have the full support of?absolutely?everyone if they make a decision that is aligned with the company's ethos and values, then we will see that regardless of their national culture, people will start to speak up and share their opinions without fear.

In conclusion, the fear of speaking up is a matter of company culture and CAN be solved.?

There are different approaches to this, and this will be extensively analysed in the White Paper that will follow in the following months.

(If you are not on my mailing list and what to receive the?White Paper, just send me a private message so I can add you.)

Until next time!

Kate