A Leader’s Guide to Responding When Someone Raises a Concern
Throughout my career advising health care, nonprofit and community organizations on communications, reputation and stakeholder relationships, I have seen one thing repeatedly: trust is often defined by how leaders respond when they hear something difficult. Every organization will eventually face a moment when someone raises a concern, identifies a risk or shares information that challenges what leaders believe to be true. The instinctive response may be to explain, defend or
Catherine Cameron
Aug 263 min read
When Organizational Silence Becomes a Reputation Risk
Organizations spend considerable time defining their values. Integrity, respect, accountability and compassion are carefully articulated in strategic plans, on websites and in leadership communications. These values shape how organizations want to be understood by employees, clients, partners and the communities they serve. However, values are not truly tested when circumstances are straightforward. They are tested when someone raises a concern that is difficult to hear, when
Catherine Cameron
Aug 264 min read
Trust Requires Transparency: The Importance of Boundaries in Professional Relationships
Trust is the foundation of every professional relationship. When we seek the expertise of a regulated professional, we are placing confidence in more than their technical skills. We are trusting that their judgment will be exercised independently, ethically, and in our best interests. Whether the relationship is between a patient and physician, a client and lawyer, a student and educator, or a pet owner and veterinarian, there is an underlying expectation: professional respon
Catherine Cameron
Aug 223 min read
When a Complaint Is More Serious Than It Looks
Most organizations don't struggle with a lack of information. They struggle with information that conflicts with what they want to believe. This becomes particularly difficult when the information concerns someone respected within the organization, someone with a strong professional reputation or someone who has been trusted for years. Organizations and the people within them can become so invested in what they believe about a person that they start evaluating the evidence ag
Catherine Cameron
Aug 193 min read
When a Client Raises a Concern: Who Is Listening?
What happens when a client raises serious concerns about a regulated professional? I was a client who raised serious concerns about the conduct of a regulated professional, a veterinarian, to the business where that professional worked. I was not an employee. I raised concerns involving professional boundaries, a significant power imbalance and conduct that I believed could have implications beyond my own experience. I was directed to the organization's HR manager, who I was
Catherine Cameron
Aug 115 min read
Psychological Safety Begins With the Response
We hear a lot about psychological safety in the workplace. Organizations invest in training, policies and programs designed to create environments where people feel able to speak up, ask questions, challenge decisions and raise concerns. But I think we need to ask a harder question. What happens after someone does? Throughout my career, I have worked with leaders and organizations through change, conflict, crisis and difficult issues. I have seen how much depends on the respo
Catherine Cameron
Aug 103 min read
Protecting Trust Before Crisis Happens: The Leadership Responsibility to Prevent Harm
Trust is not built when everything is going well. Trust is built in the moments when things become difficult. Throughout my career as a communications leader working with healthcare and social service organizations, I have seen that reputation is not created through statements, policies, or carefully crafted messaging alone. Reputation is built through behaviour. It is revealed by how organizations respond when challenges arise. Every organization will face difficult moments.
Catherine Cameron
Aug 55 min read