Don’t Let “Being New” Stop You From Speaking Up

The first step to effectively speaking up is doing pre-work. Think about who needs to hear your idea or opinion, and why would it matter to them. Speak with other team members, peers, or mentors who have been around longer to gain their perspective before bringing your idea to your boss (or another stakeholder).

Not all ideas have to be shared at a formal meeting. Sometimes, a lunch with the team member or a coffee catch-up with your boss is a better option.

When considering the time and place to speak up, think about the following:

• What frame of mind is the other person in?
• Are they working on a project that may have them thinking about the issue that you want to speak up about?
• Are they having the mental bandwidth?
• Who else needs to be around to amplify your ideas and to give it credibility? Are they available?
• Is it the kind of idea that will catch your boss by surprise, or would it be 'on topic'?

• To speak up and make it count, you need to do some pre-work. Think about who needs to hear your idea or opinion, and why would it matter to them. You could also speak to your peers to gain perspective.
• Next, think about the time and place to bring up your idea, as well as your tone. Should you speak up during the meeting, or have a one-on-one instead? Is your manager tied up with other critical issues?

Learn how to strategically frame your suggestions. Are you pointing out everything that’s wrong or suggesting ways to improve upon a process or system?

Share your idea not as the “only perfect solution” but as an alternative perspective.

You could say:

• I would like to build upon/add to what you said…
• I would like to present another perspective that might help us refine…
• I see the benefit in what you’re suggesting, but maybe we could consider making the following additions to that and here is why…

Present your idea as an alternative, sharing the pros and cons, and connecting it back to the larger team goals.

An inclusive voice shows both confidence and humility.  Confidence portrays that your arguments and logic are backed by supporting rationale, evidence, facts, and persuasive examples. 

Humility, on the other hand, is shown by presenting your idea as an alternative, sharing the pros and cons, and connecting it back to the larger team goals. To practice humility, use collective pronouns such as “we/us/our” versus personal references such as “I/my.”