Organizational silence is the rule, not the exception. I suspect this has been the case throughout human history right back down to the first tribes. The tendency to not rock the boat of those in power is a manifestation of the self-preservation instinct. It is political at its core, and like politics, usually leads to rank corruption of both the powerful and the powerless.
To narrow the scope, the problem with organizational silence in business is more than philosophical. It’s bad for the numbers. It can negatively impact market share. It can put you out of a job. Now that should trigger the instinct of self-preservation in the opposite direction. The long view requires that managers have the self-confidence to take criticism, and that they stop assuming all criticism from below comes from a place of self-interested manipulation.
