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 the Evidence Is There, But We Look Away
There is something deeply uncomfortable about evidence that changes what we believe about someone we know and trust. Sometimes the evidence is not a matter of interpretation. There are messages, records, documents and contemporaneous accounts that preserve what was said or done. Yet even then, we can find ways not to see what is in front of us because accepting it may require us to reconsider someone we love, respect, work with or have built a career or even life around. That
Catherine Cameron
Aug 173 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
When Company Values Are Put to the Test
Most organizations know how to talk about their values. Integrity. Respect. Accountability. Transparency. Trust. They appear on websites, in strategic plans, recruitment materials and presentations about organizational culture. There is nothing wrong with these words. The question is whether those values hold when they are tested. All too often they don't. After more than 30 years working with organizations and leaders, I have learned that values are easy to claim. The real t
Catherine Cameron
Aug 103 min read
At What Point Does Silence Become Complicity?
Over the past few years, I have found myself thinking about a question that is far more complicated than it first appears. At what point does silence become complicity? Most of us think of complicity as something active. We think of people who participate, conceal information or knowingly enable harmful behaviour. But I am not sure the line is always that clear. In organizations, concerns rarely arrive fully formed with all the facts neatly assembled. More often, they arrive
Catherine Cameron
Aug 102 min read
When loyalty becomes liability
One of the most difficult responsibilities of leadership is recognizing when loyalty to a colleague, a partner, or a trusted professional relationship begins to conflict with the responsibility to protect people and uphold organizational values. Most leaders do not set out to enable unethical behaviour. They do not wake up intending to ignore harm or dismiss legitimate concerns. Often, the opposite is true. They believe they are being loyal. They believe they are supporting s
Catherine Cameron
Aug 71 min read
How did no one know?
One of the most common questions asked after a crisis becomes public is, "How did no one know?" The reality however, is that someone usually did know. They may not have had all the information. They may not have understood the full extent of what was happening. Often however, employees had seen the warning signs long before an issue reached the point where leadership could no longer ignore it. Throughout my career as a communications executive, I have spent more than 30 years
Catherine Cameron
Aug 73 min read