Recently, I spoke to a CEO who had commissioned a survey on his organization’s health. To his great surprise—and that of his executive team—more than 80 percent of the respondents said that they were reluctant to speak their mind. They felt unsafe to express their opinions, doubts, or frustrations. Sadly enough, I had to tell this CEO that his firm was not an outlier. In many organizations, paranoia is common, and trust is nonexistent, contributing to strong disengagement.

Here is a sample of the questions I often ask people working in organizations:
• Is disagreeing with others or giving candid feedback at work quite risky?
• When you make a mistake, can you discuss it openly?
• Is there a lot of blaming and shaming going on?  
• Do you have tense working relationships with your colleagues?
• Are you reluctant to express your ignorance about specific matters?

When people respond affirmatively to most of these questions, the organization is more likely to be low on trust and may even have a high level of paranoia. Keep in mind that the fundamental glue that holds any relationship together is trust. In its absence, people are afraid to stick their neck out.

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