Coaching practices for Courage to Speak Up
Describe almost anything you are working through and IX Coach finds the practices whose real-world fit is closest. For Courage to Speak Up, these are the strongest matches in the current practice library.
Does this sound like the set of challenges you might be facing?
- I’ve told my people a hundred times they can disagree with me, but they still don’t
- Someone finally raised an objection that turned out to be right, and I just moved on without ever acknowledging it
- There’s a conversation I know I need to have
- When I disagree or something’s wrong, I usually just swallow it to keep the peace
- I have the thing I want to say right there on my lips
Practices that may help
- Teach speak-up skills, not just encourage speaking up
Give team members specific language for raising concerns, not just permission to raise them.
Psychological Safety in Teams - Reward the voice, not just the agreement
Make dissent and questions cost less than silence by visibly valuing them.
Psychological Safety, Made Practical - Develop emotional courage
Choose discomfort deliberately when the values-aligned path is harder — courage is a practice, not a trait.
Emotional Agility, Made Practical - Speak difficult truths from strength, not submission
Say the hard thing — the feedback, the disagreement, the "this is wrong" — from a grounded, caring place.
Fierce Self-Compassion, Made Practical - Use the count for courage to speak or share
Count down and say the thing — raise your hand, send the message, ask the question — before fear edits it away.
The 5 Second Rule, Made Practical - Choose vulnerability on purpose
Show up and let yourself be seen when there is no guarantee of the outcome.
Daring Greatly, Made Practical - Give voice to those with uncomfortable perspectives
Actively surface and protect the dissenting or marginal voices the system wants to silence.
Adaptive Leadership, Made Practical - Give and receive feedback with courage
Sit on the same side of the table: feedback as a shared problem, not an attack.
Daring Greatly, Made Practical - Disagree with your manager constructively
State your disagreement clearly, give your reasoning, and then commit to the decision — without sacrificing either honesty or loyalty.
Managing Up: Practical Skills for Working with Your Boss - The practice of self-assertiveness
Honor your wants, needs, and values by expressing them in the world — appropriately and openly.
The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem, Made Practical
Related concerns
- Speaking Up At Work
Give team members specific language for raising concerns, not just permission to raise them.
Teach speak-up skills, not just encourage speaking up
- How To Speak Up At Work
Give team members specific language for raising concerns, not just permission to raise them.
- How To Address Bullying At Work
Give team members specific language for raising concerns, not just permission to raise them.
- How To Convince New Employee To Stop Trying To Change Our Office Culture On Profanity
Give team members specific language for raising concerns, not just permission to raise them.
- How To Tackle Bullying At Work
Give team members specific language for raising concerns, not just permission to raise them.
- Protecting Dissent
Give one person the formal job of arguing against the plan — making dissent structural, not personal.
Appoint an explicit devil’s advocate role
Describe your situation in your own words to search the complete practice library.