Friday Forward - Speaking Freely (#451)

Free speech is often discussed but rarely fully understood. Here's what leaders need to know.

In recent years, the concept of free speech has been intensely debated in political, social, and academic circles. Like too many things today, the term free speech is thrown around by many, but fully understood by few. In most cases, confusion stems from the fact that while free speech is a constitutional right in the United States, individuals and organizations are allowed to judge, or even impose certain consequences on, others’ speech.

I recently discussed this topic in depth on the Elevate Podcast with Greg Lukianoff, President of the Foundation for Individual Rights of Expression (FIRE) and the author of The Coddling of the American Mind. Greg defines free speech as the right to speak freely without government retribution. Codified in the Constitution’s First Amendment, free speech is a cornerstone of American democracy.

But while the First Amendment shields speakers from government overreach, it doesn’t protect individuals or organizations from consequences of their speech. Speech can still have legal, professional and social repercussions, especially if it’s harmful or dangerous. For example, while you can’t be sent to jail for an unpopular or offensive statement, you might have your employment terminated, see customers boycott your product, or have business partners decide they no longer want to work with you. Others are free to make those choices, just as you are free to express yourself.

To that point, private companies, educational institutions, and other organizations have the right to establish their own codes of conduct and decide that certain speech won’t be tolerated, even if the government cannot impose consequences. A good example is when Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson prohibited political discussions on company channels, as I wrote in a recent Friday Forward.

Still, many people who face consequences because of their speech are quick to claim, especially on social media, that their First Amendment right is being trampled on, even though that isn’t the case.

That’s not to say companies, organizations and academic institutions should have carte blanche to police speech however they wish. As with all leadership principles, acceptable speech standards in any organization need to be applied clearly and consistently.

However, as recent developments have shown, this clarity and consistency is all too rare. That is where the trouble starts for leaders and organizations.

For example, we’ve seen many university administrators and professors apply their speech standards inconsistently. For years, many professors and academic leaders openly supported the restriction of certain ideas in their classrooms, canceled events featuring speakers whose viewpoints they disagreed with, and even encouraged discipline for those accused of subjective microaggressions. Then, many of these same academic leaders developed a sudden reverence for free speech to defend increasingly ugly and divisive incidents, such as the campus protests that have frequently featured hateful rhetoric and physical intimidation.

For some, free speech seems to be a shield only when it serves to protect viewpoints they agree with, rather than a principle to uphold universally. This selective advocacy has hollowed out the true meaning of free speech on many campuses and organizations.

Greg Lukianoff and his team at FIRE have been working to hold leaders accountable for this type of hypocrisy. In fact, universities such as Harvard, Columbia, and the University of Pennsylvania rank near the bottom of FIRE’s free speech rankings. It’s a paradox that the academic institutions that should be allowing critical thinking and free dialogue to flourish have made headlines for their selective administration of free speech principles.

True free speech advocates, like Greg, even emphasize the importance of defending speech that one may find repugnant or offensive. This is why Greg has received significant criticism from both sides of the political divide for cases he and his team have taken. If you truly believe in free speech, you can’t selectively choose which ideas deserve protection.

Leaders in all organizations are free to choose what type of speech and behavior is permitted in their communities, but they must apply those standards consistently. Whether it’s values, vision, standards or ethics, if you aren’t consistent, your legitimacy is ripe for criticism from all sides.

I invite you to listen to my conversation with Greg on the Elevate Podcast. We dive deeper into this complex topic and explore why free speech remains an essential, albeit misunderstood, cornerstone of a functioning society.

Quote of The Week

"If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.” - George Orwell

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