Whistleblowing should not be the only way to SpeakUp and ListenUp

Let's stop acting as if the only valid form of ‘speaking-listening up’ is the formal whistleblowing game.

As a whistleblower I think I'm permitted to say that.

When we invert the narrative that whistleblowing is the only way to speak up, we unlock a more practical, humane, and effective approach: shifting from reactive heroics, often attracting painful, zero-game outcomes, to proactive cultures of integrity. True courage is not just about heroic exposure — it’s about ordinary honesty, every day.

I'd like to see organisations re-valorising the more human conversation game — encouraging and teaching people how to speak up in the moment, directly, respectfully, and bravely.

The Courageous Conversation game is social, relational, and fundamentally human.