怎样鼓励员工说真话

    波莱特•埃伯哈特从不羞羞答答。为了扭转经营局面，总部位于费城的工程技术公司CDI聘请她为首席执行官。埃伯哈特上任后要求自己的团队“直言不讳，但要有礼貌”，哪怕他们需要拍桌子来引起她的注意。

    埃伯哈特最近接受《纽约时报》（the New York Times）采访时指出，许多公司的一个大问题就是人们用于沟通的时间不足，特别是在他们发现情况不对的时候。

    当老板要求开诚布公地进行沟通时，同意如实反映情况是一回事，而有足够的勇气来畅所欲言则完全是另外一回事。咨询公司DecisionWise对超过10万名职场人士进行的研究显示，由于担心成为别人眼中的异见分子，或者出现更糟的情况，约三分之一（34%）的美国员工都选择了沉默。

    建立顺畅沟通的氛围要从最高层着手，首席执行官或创始人要为企业的其他负责人定好基调。因言获罪的事例只要出现一次就会让管理层信誉扫地。

    经营策略咨询机构Henman Performance Group总裁琳达•亨曼认为，鼓励一种行为的最好办法就是给予奖励，同时树立相应的典型。她解释说：“如果管理者想要公开和透明，他们首先要做的就应该是让自己在沟通方面做到公开和透明。”接下来他们应当建立固定的渠道来直接听取员工的意见。

    我们可以借鉴通用汽车（General Motors）首席执行官丹•阿克森的做法。阿克森会定时到员工们上班的地方去走走，目的是看看他们情绪如何。亨曼指出，四处走走，同时征询反馈意见是个好的开端。她的建议是：“如果你听说了什么消息，马上感谢这个人的开诚布公。”

    就连重新考虑办公室布局都有可能是一项明智之举，原因是人们很容易把墙壁视为障碍。尽管现在远程办公群体前所未有地壮大，但管理者还是可以通过手中的技术来协助人们在工作场所中进行坦诚而频繁的交流。

    无论员工是在地球的另一边，还是在隔壁的办公室，管理者都得让自己的脸皮厚一些，原因是打开言路后反馈意见可能蜂拥而至，而且好坏都有。服装及鞋类购物网站Zappos首席执行官谢家华不仅欢迎员工提意见，还鼓励顾客告诉他Zappos的表现如何——就算他们对某种产品或服务感到不满。其中的诀窍在于听到不顺耳的评论时要能控制住自己的本能反应。

    大肆为自己辩护会让别人欲言又止。管理咨询公司Triangle Performance首席执行官凯文•波舍尔曼指出：“最愚蠢的做法就是打击为你提供信息的人。坏消息还会出现，只是你已经成了最后知道消息的人。”

    Paulett Eberhart is no shrinking violet. Brought in to turn the ship around at Philadelphia-based engineering and technology firm CDI, the executive told her team to be "brutally honest, but in a respectful way," even if they had to pound their fists on the table to get her attention.

    A big problem at many businesses, Eberhart recently told the New York Times, is that people don't spend enough time communicating, especially if they see something going wrong.

    It's one thing to agree to offer honest feedback when the boss demands open communication. It's quite another to be courageous enough to speak up. Fear of being pegged as a dissenter or worse stifles about a third of U.S. workers (34%), according to a study of over 100,000 workers by consulting firm DecisionWise.

    Cultivating a climate of open communication starts at the top, with the CEO or founder setting the tone for the rest of the leaders of an organization. Even a single incident of punishment for speaking up the "wrong way" can destroy management's credibility.

    Linda Henman, president of Henman Performance Group, says the best way to encourage any behavior is to reward and model it. "If executives want openness and transparency, they should start by being open and transparent in their own communication." Then, they should create routine ways to hear directly from employees, she explains.

    Take a page from General Motors (GM) CEO Dan Akerson's playbook. Akerson regularly hoofs it through the halls to check the temperature of his staff. Henman suggests walking around and inviting feedback is a good place to start. "When you hear something, thank the person for his or her candor," she advises.

    It might even make sense to rethink the office floor plan, as physical walls can easily turn into perceived barricades. Even though employees are working remotely in record numbers, executives have technology on their side to aid the practice of open and frequent communication in the workplace.

    Whether they're halfway across the globe or in the office next door, leaders need to grow a thick skin, because opening the floor for commentary could lead to a flood of feedback, both positive and negative. Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh not only welcomes commentary from his staff, but also encourages customers to let him know how the company's doing -- even if they are unhappy with a product or service. The trick is to manage your knee-jerk reactions when you receive unflattering reviews.

    Lashing out defensively will shut people down. "Shooting the messenger is the pinnacle of foolish," notes D. Kevin Berchelmann, CEO of management consultancy Triangle Performance. "The bad news continues, but you just joined the ranks of 'last to know.'"