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Shouldn’t we all be speaking up at work — at least when suitable!?
Yes, it is general good advice — but a recent piece of research by Newton et al. form Iowa State University looked at how you speak up and the impacts of this.
And in what ways should we speak up?
Well they classified only two ways of speaking up:
Challenging Voice: which is a more task-oriented voice and often taken by experts
Supportive Voice: which is supportive and collaborative
Sounds like the difference between annoying people and nice people!
It certainly could be — we probably have a personal preference based on our personality. There seems to be a perception though that we should focus on challenging voice, showcasing expertise and the facts in business.
Logical - but what are the impacts of this?
Well, the researchers found that people who use supportive voice are more likely to be recruited to a team. As researcher Melissa Chamberlain said:
Supportive voice signals someone’s approachability and trustworthiness. It fosters strong interpersonal relationships, which affects a team’s ability to communicate and coordinate efforts in order to reach goals.
