Permission to Speak Freely

Lead So Your People Speak Freely

Candid communication enhances innovation, ownership, engagement, and performance. The benefits of hearing questions and uncertainties, good and bad ideas, and honest feedback are game-changing. Yet research shows that most of the time, people never share their true thoughts with each other—and especially not with their leaders.

But what if they did? What if everyone could confidently communicate without fearing a negative response? In Permission to Speak Freely, highly acclaimed leader developers Doug Crandall and Matt Kincaid illustrate the benefits of candor, explain the inhibitors that cause it to feel unsafe, and provide tools for leaders to encourage their people and embed trust and openness into the foundation of their organizational culture.Contents
Foreword by Shann Ray Ferch, PhD vii
Introduction: How Speaking Freely Helped Bring a
Championship to Seattle 1
PART ONE:
WHAT LEADERS NEED TO HEAR
1: Questions and Uncertainties 11
2:  Great Ideas and Terrible Ones 21
3:  Feedback and Concerns 27 

PART TWO: THE PROBLEM 

4:  Leaders Impede Communication 35
5:  A Leader’s Power Suffocates 45 

6:  People Fear Judgment 53 

7:  Rejection Leads to Fatigue 65
PART THREE: HOW TO CULTIVATE
A CULTURE OF CANDOR
8:  Assume Positive Intent 73 

9:  Prove It’s Safe 93 

10:  Dignify Every Try 105

11:  Be Genuinely Curious 117
12:  The Promised Land 133
Notes 147
Index 151
About the Authors 157“Permission to Speak Freely is a rare leadership book that entertains and educates. The stories are memorable, the research is meaningful, and the takeaways are immediately actionable.”
—Adam Grant, Wharton professor and New York Times bestselling author of Give and Take and Originals

“We simply cannot figure out what is essential as leaders without people sharing what they are seeing, hearing, and experiencing. This takes powerful listening on the part of the leader. These truths—and how to make them a reality—are beautifully illustrated in Permission to Speak Freely.”
—Greg McKeown, New York Times bestselling author of Essentialism

“This book tackles the most important problem in organizations today—leaders do not know how to encourage their subordinates to speak up. Permission to Speak Freely not only identifies the problem with powerful stories but offers suggestions that are important to leaders at every level, especially those at the very tops of their organization.”
—Edgar H. Schein, Professor Emeritus, MIT Sloan School of Management, and author of Humble Consulting and Humble Inquiry

“Incredible writing. Edible lessons. I set out to read a chapter of Permission to Speak Freely and then couldn’t put it down. Devour this book and learn from it.”
—Scott Snook, Harvard Business School Senior Lecturer and coauthor of The Discover Your True North Fieldbook and The Handbook for Teaching Leadership

“Crandall and Kincaid adroitly reveal how leaders inadvertently derail creativity and commitment, and deliver keen insights on how to avoid that trap. Permission to Speak Freely is a powerful reminder to leaders that they aren’t necessarily the smartest people in the room.”
—Tom Kolditz, Founding Director, Ann and John Doerr Institute for New Leaders, Rice University; retired Brigadier General; and former Professor and Leadership Development Program Director, Yale School of Management

“The tenets illustrated in Permission to Speak Freely are already shaping the way I operate my business, build my team, and consult on matters of organization change management. This book is a remarkable tool for diverse leaders worldwide. ”
—Tyler Borders, cofounder and Principal, Dartlet
Doug Crandall ‪is the founding partner of Blue Rudder, a leadership development consultancy. He has led in the US Army, taught at West Point, and helped develop and grow Walmart's Leadership Academy. Doug is the coauthor of Hope Unseen and the editor of Leadership Lessons from West Point.

Matthew Kincaid, PhD, is a business professor and the managing partner of Blue Rudder. He has led four start-ups, consulted for various Fortune 500 companies, and been published in international leadership journals.