Culture of Openness at Work: 7 Practical Leadership Steps

7 Top Ways to Create a Culture of Openness at Work
A culture of openness at work accelerates learning, strengthens collaboration, and improves both teamwork and decision-making. When ideas are freely shared and suggestions are genuinely welcomed, employees are more likely to feel valued, connected, and heard. Our organizational culture assessment data consistently shows that these conditions are linked to higher engagement, stronger productivity, and deeper organizational commitment.

Unfortunately, research by Amy Edmondson found a troubling pattern across industries: about 85% of employees had stayed silent about an important workplace concern at least once — even when they believed speaking up mattered.

The problem was not that employees had nothing to say. They did not believe it was safe enough to say it.

That is why a culture of openness is about more than encouraging people to speak up. The real test begins after they do. How leaders react to:

• Bad news.
• Dissent.
• Mistakes.
• Tough questions.
• Uncomfortable truths.

— determines whether employees will speak candidly again — or decide that silence is safer.  In a closed culture it is common to hear that “it is just not worth it to speak up.”

How to Create a Culture of Openness at Work

Here’s how leaders can create and sustain a culture of openness at work that drives stronger collaboration, trust, and performance.

1. Lead by Example
   Leaders and high performers set the tone for everyone else. Employee engagement action data consistently shows that when leaders demonstrate curiosity — especially through thoughtful, open-ended questions — they elevate the quality of thinking and decision making across the organization.

   The real shift happens when leaders listen to understand rather than listening to respond. It also requires intentionally seeking out perspectives that differ in background, role, and experience.

   Are your leaders creating space for curiosity about what others might be missing or overlooking?

2. Foster Psychological Safety
   Openness cannot exist without psychological team safety — the shared belief that speaking up will not lead to punishment, embarrassment, or retaliation. When people feel safe, they contribute more honestly, challenge ideas more constructively, and engage more fully.

   Leaders reinforce this by establishing team norms that discourage back-channel conversations, making time for reflection before decisions, and treating mistakes as learning opportunities rather than failures to punish.

   Are your leaders consistently reinforcing that it is safe to challenge the status quo?

3. Encourage the Timely Flow of Information
   Organizational alignment research consistently shows that the timely flow of information is one of the strongest predictors of high performance. People cannot execute effectively without access to the information they need, when they need it.

   When information is delayed, siloed, or filtered, decision quality declines and small issues often escalate into larger problems. Strong organizations treat information as a shared asset, not a source of control.

   Is information flowing quickly and openly enough to support sound decision-making?

4. Promote Transparency
   Workplace transparency builds trust, strengthens alignment, and raises commitment. When employees understand strategic priorities, key assumptions, and organizational challenges, they are far better equipped to make decisions that support the broader direction of the business.

   This includes sharing the “why” behind decisions, making performance and progress visible, and involving employees in meaningful discussions about change — not just informing them after the fact.

   When clarity increases, guesswork decreases — and alignment improves.

   Is transparency strong enough to support confident, informed decision-making across your organization?

5. Provide Continuous Feedback
   Open cultures rely on ongoing, two-way feedback — not annual conversations. Feedback should flow in all directions: peer to peer, manager to employee, and employee to manager.

   When feedback becomes routine rather than rare, it becomes easier to deliver, easier to receive, and far more effective in shaping performance. Tools like regular check-ins, 360-degree input, and informal coaching conversations help normalize this rhythm.

   Is feedback being used as a continuous driver of growth or an occasional performance event?

6. Empower Employees
   Openness increases when people feel trusted to make decisions and take ownership of outcomes. Empowerment signals respect — and it encourages employees to speak up, share ideas, and take initiative without waiting for permission.

   This can be reinforced through decision-making autonomy, involving employees in key choices, and supporting personalized development pathways that build capability over time.

   Are employees trusted enough to act like owners?

7. Celebrate Openness
   What gets recognized gets repeated. Organizations that sustain openness intentionally reinforce the behaviors that support it—speaking up, sharing ideas, challenging constructively, and collaborating across boundaries.

   Recognition and rewards do not need to be elaborate. Public acknowledgment, peer appreciation, or simple, timely thank-you’s can significantly reinforce desired behaviors and make them part of the culture.

   Are your leaders consistently and visibly reinforcing openness in action?

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.

If people are afraid to speak the truth, your culture is already costing you. To build a culture where people speak up, challenge assumptions, and raise concerns before they become costly problems, download Changing Corporate Culture: 7 Rules Leaders Ignore at Their Own Risk

by Tristam Brown: CEO

Tristam Brown is an executive business consultant and organizational development expert with more than three decades of experience helping organizations accelerate performance, build high-impact teams, and turn strategy into execution. As CEO of LSA Global, he works with leaders to get and stay aligned™ through research-backed strategy, culture, and talent solutions that produce measurable, business-critical results. See full bio.