Many organisational leaders admit they are reluctant to intentionally build a whistleblowing culture. And often, the reasons are legitimate:

• They are genuinely unsure how to protect a whistleblower after disclosure
• Legal budgets don’t stretch to lengthy investigations or years of potential litigation
• There are real concerns about reputational damage if the process fails at any point.

But if we agree that great companies are built on intention, not instinct, an important question follows:

Why aren’t more leaders investing in behavioural interventions that increase the frequency of courageous acts long before whistleblowing is ever required?

If it takes courage for employees to engage in everyday learning, feedback, and communication behaviours, then you don’t have a whistleblowing problem — you have a culture problem. And its solution shouldn’t rest on “everyone speaking up,” but on senior leaders sticking their necks out first.

This is where courageous conversations matter.

Whistleblowing theory and practice focuses on the time after.
Speaking-listening up focuses on the time before.

If we want fewer crises, fewer disclosures, and fewer investigations, we need cultures where people speak and listen early — and often.

See Westminster's Lord Andrew Phillips' feedback here