For Susan, speaking up to her manager may mean losing her internship. Her manager could get upset by her confrontation and feel that she may not be suitable for the company, for one reason or another. Further, speaking up may make Susan be known as someone who is difficult to work with, which is a title/association that may haunt her for the rest of her internship or career at Zantech, should she return one day. Of course, a lot of the consequences depend on how much protection she has from things like retaliation. Personally, I feel as though companies in the US have such protections that protect people who want to speak up and voice their concerns, and that often such action is commended. However, the case in other companies, like those in Asia with difficult norms and cultures, may be different. However, I totally understand Susan’s quandaries, especially if I were to encounter a situation in the current economy. In such a case, since I’m here on a visa, I’m honestly not sure whether I would speak up since I’m not confident in my ability to immediately get a job (and not having to leave the US).
When it comes to the 3 steps outlined in “How to Speak Up When It Matters”, Susan can follow this plan.
- First, she must realize how psychologically challenging speaking up can be both, especially in her case, as she’s navigating different cultural norms and communication styles. Her feelings of discomfort and unease are valid and she should be proud that she is sitting with these feelings and really considering the consequences of speaking up (and not speaking up).
- Work to lessen the social threat that speaking up creates. In her case, she can start by assuming positive intent from Mr. Moon. In Korean cultures, hierarchy may be pretty important, so in communicating her concerns, she should reiterate that she isn’t trying to undermine him but that she is concerned about the company as a whole and try to frame the problem as something they can collaborate on and address together (ex. She and him tackling a common problem that could have dire consequences on the company)
- Make a plan. As mentioned in the article, creating an if-then plan could be beneficial. Susan has already outlined various factors to consider and she can think about what her main values and concerns are and formulate an if-then plan (or many!) to both think deeply about the problem at hand as well as prepare herself for various outcomes or conversations.
