How HR can create a culture of courage

What are the major fears, and how do they impact the people in your organisation? Where is courage absent and present in your company culture? Answering the questions involves your bravery, writes Martin Stark.

Pushing through the unease of discovering what employees are scared of and why. Navigating unsettling findings of the anguish and anxieties that individuals in the organisation experience. Creating a culture of courage starts with your leadership. Uncovering the root causes of fear and the pain they cause.

Imagine booking an appointment with your GP because your forearm is sore and you think it’s broken. The doctor examines your upper arm, elbow, and hands. They fail to look at your suspected fracture and say, “Tell me where it doesn’t hurt.” You leave with the problem ignored. It’s likely to worsen. You will experience more pain.

This is the foundation of unlocking courage. Understanding the fears in the organisation and the pain they create. Here are several ways you can identify them:

• Listen and learn: Ask open-ended questions enabling people to comfortably share their perspectives. Conduct confidential surveys to gauge what employees fear and how it impacts them.
• Invite sharing: Hold focus groups and provide anonymous platforms for staff to articulate their experiences. Collect informal stories about “what happens when” scenarios.
• Learn from insights: Ask fear-focused questions in exit interviews and monitor social media and online reviews about company culture.

Addressing the fear factor

Some of the most common workplace fears are rejection and embarrassment, tension and interpersonal conflict and consequences of speaking up. The threat of AI exacerbates two major fears: job security and change and uncertainty.

PWC’s latest Global Workforce Hopes and Fears Survey highlighted that 44 per cent of employees don’t understand why workplace changes need to happen. Additionally, workers report “they may not be able to give their best at work owing to increased stress and anxiety, fear of taking risks or decreased morale”.

Many fears are unfounded. Nothing bamboozles workplace courage more than a scintillating rumour or a conjurer of calamitous fright. Remember how Chicken Little (Henny Penny) tells the barnyard animals how the sky is falling after an acorn dropped on his head. Fear and panic spread unchecked, with no one providing the facts. How many damaging false rumours have you had to quash?

Clarity is the antidote to uncertainty. It contributes to replacing fear with courage and fosters openness. HR leaders can make this a best practice through:

• Integrity through transparency: Share the “why” behind major changes, timelines, employee impacts, and answer “What’s in it for me?” Prevent information vacuums through regular updates and addressing any “elephants in the room”.
• Combat fear with facts: Nip the rumour mill and speculation in the bud. Facts and honesty are your best friends and allay fears early on.
• Lead with empathy: Listen to understand and show that you care about employees’ feelings and anxieties. Encourage staff to express concerns, discuss ways forward and overcome catastrophising.

Encourage staff to use their voices

Many falsely assume speaking up is the exclusive domain of whistleblowers. I view it as a myriad of brave communication. This includes sharing ideas or a contrarian view, highlighting the cause of stubborn problems, advocating for customers, and asking tough questions. Most corporate scandals are preventable when staff speak up and are listened to.

Would you want an eager employee to withhold an idea that drives groundbreaking innovation or solves your most complex customer problem? Of course not. Are your employees empowered to use their voice? MIT research shows employees who speak up are 92 per cent more likely to stay with the company, and 95 per cent would recommend it as a great place to work.

Empowerment begins with removing the fear of consequences of speaking. It’s advanced by employee inclusion in business discussions and decisions. It becomes a practice through storytelling – the most impactful form of human communication.

Three effective methods you can adopt are:

• Promote sharing of anecdotes: When you and employees share firsthand experiences, it creates relatability and shows others that using their voice is both appreciated and delivers value.
• Provide meaningful communication forums: Involve staff in planning, problem solving where they can ask questions and add value.
• Train managers to receive feedback: Equip and upskill leaders to respond constructively to challenging input, discomfort, and ideas that might initially seem disruptive.

Inspire and normalise change

There is no magic formula or secret recipe for bravery. Humans are hardwired for fear. Courage is a learnt behaviour developed in childhood. However, leaders can inspire courage in adults where it becomes the norm. This develops environments where everyone flourishes.

The PWC survey presents a paradox. Three out of five employees feel excited about their company’s future, yet over 50 per cent feel overwhelmed by the pace of change. Your culture needs to bridge the chasm of fear.

Humans learn from other humans. When you and other leaders model bravery, you provide the example for others to follow. Incentivising, rewarding, and celebrating it permeate courage in the organisation’s DNA. This creates a propinquity effect: proximity to bravery. It converts part-time courage (only when people feel comfortable) to consistently being courageous.

Reconsider the question: where is courage absent and present in your company culture? The answers are your ingredients for organisational alchemy. Use the insights to build bravery where it’s absent. Strengthen, leverage, and learn from areas where courage is in abundance.

Everyone’s journey to bravery is unique. That’s the key to normalising it. Accept where people are. Encourage calculated risk taking and gaining wisdom by learning from mistakes. Embed courage into recruitment practices, selection criteria, objectives, and performance management.

Nurture ambition, boldness, and informed decision making. Let grit, resilience, and determination organically develop. Individuals and teams will be better prepared to overcome barriers and tackle bigger challenges.

Investing in bravery today creates sustained courage tomorrow.

Martin Stark, also known as ‘The Courage Champion’, is a globally recognised inspirational speaker, trailblazer, author and two-time LinkedIn Top Voice.