Ask genuine, situational questions

Pull contribution out with real questions instead of waiting for people to volunteer.

Why it works

Silence is the default in low-safety teams because the burden of initiating a risk falls on the individual. A direct, genuine question shifts that burden: now not answering is the deviation. Crucially, the question must be real — leading or rhetorical questions signal that you only want agreement, which suppresses candor further.

How to do it

1. Ask specific questions ("What might we be missing here?") rather than "Any questions?"
2. Direct questions to people who haven’t spoken, without putting them on the spot punitively.
3. Stay silent after asking — let the pause do the work instead of answering yourself.

Evidence

Inquiry-based leadership and explicit invitations to speak are associated with higher voice and safety in team and healthcare studies; soliciting input is a core lever in Edmondson’s work. Detert & Burris’s 2007 study of managerial openness and employee voice found that whether people actually spoke up depended on the manager’s behavior more than on a nominally “open door.” (observational)

Field-based; the same question can build or erode safety depending on how the answer is received.

Sources

• Edmondson (2003), speaking up in interdisciplinary action teams, J. Management Studies
• Edmondson, A. C. (2003). Speaking Up in the Operating Room: How Team Leaders Promote Learning in Interdisciplinary Action Teams. Journal of Management Studies, 40(6), 1419–1452.
• Detert, J. R., & Burris, E. R. (2007). Leadership Behavior and Employee Voice: Is the Door Really Open? Academy of Management Journal, 50(4), 869–884.

Common mistake

Asking "Any concerns?" rhetorically while clearly signaling you want a yes — a leading question reads as a trap and teaches people to stay quiet.