7 Top Ways to Create a Culture of Openness at Work

7 Top Ways to Create a Culture of Openness at Work
Fostering a culture of openness at work increases learning, collaboration, teamwork, and decision making.  The sharing of ideas and the welcoming of suggestions foster a workplace environment where employees feel valued, connected, and heard. Our organizational culture assessment data correlates this to higher levels of engagement, productivity, and commitment.

How to Create a Culture of Openness at Work
Here’s how leaders can create and sustain a culture of openness at work:

1. Lead by Example
   Leaders and high performers set the tone for the entire organization. We know from employee engagement action data that leaders who are genuinely curious and ask good questions — especially open-ended questions — motivate those around them to learn and discover what others have to offer.

   That means listening to learn, not listening to respond.  It also means actively seeking input from people with diverse backgrounds, experiences, and viewpoints.

   Do your leaders make it easy for people to get curious about what others may NOT be seeing or thinking about?

2. Foster Psychological Safety
   For openness at work to thrive, employees need to feel safe when expressing their opinions. Psychological team safety is the belief that it is OK to speak up without the risk of punishment or humiliation. To cultivate this, leaders must create team norms that discourage back-channeling, allow for time to reflect, and encourage learning from mistakes.

   Do your leaders recognize and reward those who contribute ideas, even when they challenge the status quo?

3. Encourage the Timely and Free Flow of Information
   Based upon our Organizational Alignment Research, the timely and free flow of information is one of the top five most important ingredients required to create high performance growth. Employees need the right information at the right time to thrive. Information needs to flow in order to coordinate functions, resolve conflicts, and solve organizational problems.

   Any bottleneck in the information flow process can cause bad decisions to be made, lower employee performance, and allow problems to grow and fester.

   Do your leaders encourage open communication?

4. Promote Transparency
   Transparency at work is a cornerstone of openness and organizational trust. Encouraging constructive debate about the company’s strategic assumptions, priorities, and challenges helps to align employees with the organization’s vision and mission. This includes actively involving employees in change, consistently making key decisions more visible, and providing candid updates on company performance.

   When employees understand the bigger picture and have a clear line of sight, they are more likely to make decisions that help move the company forward in a way that makes sense to the people and the business.

   Is your workplace culture transparent enough?

5. Provide Continuous Feedback
   Openness at work is built on a foundation of continuous, constructive, and two-way feedback. Employees should feel comfortable providing input to their peers and superiors, as well as receiving both positive and negative feedback. Regular performance reviews, 360-degree feedback programs, and informal one-on-one check-ins can help maintain a culture of continuous feedback and accountability.

   Do your leaders use feedback as a tool for growth and continuous improvement?

6. Empower Employees
   Empowering employees to take ownership of their work and decisions is key to fostering openness. When employees feel trusted and respected, they are more likely to be open about their ideas and concerns.

   Employee empowerment can be achieved by giving people autonomy in their roles, involving stakeholders in decision-making processes, and providing opportunities for customized professional development.

   Do your leaders empower their teams enough?

7. Celebrate Openness
   To sustain an open culture, it is essential to celebrate and reinforce the key behaviors that contribute to a culture of openness. Recognize and reward employees who demonstrate openness in their communication, collaboration, and decision-making efforts. Public acknowledgment, awards, or even simple thank-you notes can go a long way in reinforcing desired behaviors and attitudes.

   Do your leaders visibly celebrate and reward openness?

The Bottom Line
Creating a culture of openness at work requires consistent and deliberate effort, but the high performance benefits are well worth it. We know from leadership simulation assessment data that your leaders hold the cultural keys to driving employee engagement, fostering innovation, and increasing change resilience.

To learn more about creating a culture of openness at work, download Changing Corporate Culture: 4 Do’s and 3 Don’ts