You can’t create a culture where people speak up, share problems, dissent and deliver bad news unless it’s psychologically safe (i.e See Amy Edmondson and Google’s Project Aristotle for more on psychological safety and why it’s the #1 factor for high employee performance).
If you don’t, you are missing out on critical information that leaders, managers, investors and other stakeholders need to know. Employees are unlikely speak up unless you intentionally create an atmosphere where they feel safe.
Check out this article that discusses it: https://digest.bps.org.uk/2019/05/08/shooting-the-messenger-is-a-psychological-reality-share-bad-news-and-people-will-like-you-less/amp/?__twitter_impression=true
“The research suggests that “shooting the messenger” has a real basis in the way people act in everyday situations. It seems to stem from a number of sources, including a desire to make sense of negative or unexpected situations, and a tendency to misattribute malicious motives to messengers. While the researchers concentrated on the ‘likability’ of the messenger, they add that participants could be making other negative judgements as well: for example, one of the studies found that people also judge bringers of bad news as less competent.”
