Shownotes
This episode tackles a difficult subject, but it’s one I believe we need to be talking about.
Using the recent Cornell 7 case as a starting point, I’m looking beyond the question of why people don’t simply “speak up” when they see something wrong. While speaking up matters, decades of research and experience across healthcare, emergency services, corporate environments, and other systems tell us there are very real human and cultural reasons people stay silent.
I share some of my own experiences with safety culture and what I’ve learned about creating environments where people actually feel safe enough to challenge what’s happening, even when there are power dynamics, loyalty, secrecy, friendships, or a strong group culture working against them.
I also talk about the conversations I think we need to be having with young people before they ever find themselves facing an impossible decision. Instead of only teaching them to speak up when something goes wrong, how can we help them recognize the informal behaviors and cultural norms that signal an unsafe environment in the first place?
This isn’t about excusing anyone’s behavior or letting people off the hook. It’s about understanding the systems and cultures that influence human behavior so we can change them, hold people accountable, and hopefully prevent more people from being put in situations where someone else’s safety depends on an incredibly difficult decision.
I don’t have the answer for how we stop this cycle. But I believe we have to keep looking at the cultures we create, the environments we choose to participate in, and what it really takes to make it safe for people to speak up.
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Cover Art Photo by: Kim Thomson Steel
Podcast Production by: Allison Nitsch | Podcast Production
