How Do I Get My Team to Take More Risks and Actually Speak Up?

If you want your team to think like owners, take initiative, debate ideas, and share real opinions in meetings, but you keep getting silence, hesitation, or “Just tell me what to do” vibes, this episode is for you.

In this episode, we’re answering a question from a manager who wants his team to lean in more, take risks, and bring forward their own recommendations rather than wait for direction every time. We dig into what really gets in the way of ownership and proactivity, and (spoiler alert) sometimes the problem starts with us as managers.

We’ll show you how to:

• Get out of your team’s way, for real
• Set expectations that actually create ownership
• De‑risk decision‑making with guardrails instead of approvals
• Reinforce risk‑taking with meaningful praise
• Avoid accidental micromanaging (even when you think you’re helping)

Then, we shift into a question from another manager: “Why does my team go silent in meetings but share all their opinions privately?”

We’ll walk you through tactical ways to build psychological safety, model vulnerability, encourage debate, and set up meeting formats that help both “speak‑to‑thinkers” and “think‑to‑speakers” contribute confidently.

Finally, Natalie asks: “When’s the right time to ask for feedback and how do I actually get useful input?”

We break down how to ask for specific feedback, how often to request it, and how to receive it without defensiveness, even when it stings a little.

Want to Ask Us a Question? We’re taking real questions from real managers and people leaders. Email us at dearlandl@elevateleadership.com, and we just might feature yours in a future episode.

Learn more about our solutions at https://www.elevateleadership.com/

Connect with Lindsey on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lindseynehls/

Connect with Lucy on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucy-georgiades-84933622/

Subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or YouTube so you never miss an episode. And leave us a review to let us know what you think.

Additional Resources:

Psychological Safety Survey (Amy Edmondson)

Rate your team of peers: 2 points = True | 1 = Sometimes True | 0 = False

1. If you make a mistake on this team, it is rarely held against you
2. Members of this team are able to bring up problems and tough issues
3. People on this team don’t reject others for being different
4. It is safe to take a risk on this team
5. It is easy to ask other members of this team for help
6. No one on this team would deliberately act in a way that undermines my efforts
7. Working with members of this team, my unique skills and talents are valued and utilized

Rating Scale:

• 0-5 - Psychological safety on your team needs some work. What can you do immediately to make some progress here?
• 6-10 - Psychological safety is not bad, but some improvement would go a long way
• 11-14 - Great job! Psychological safety on your team is high!