Joy in Work Curiosity Collective: how to be ‘constructively awkward’ and enable speaking up at work

Awkward is a word with a bad press in organisations. Following on from May’s session on silencing in teams and organisations, this next session with Dr David Naylor explores what happens when you put ​‘constructive’ in front of ​‘awkward.’ You could become the person able to disrupt and discomfort yourself and others in order to face two ethical questions: who and what are we at risk of silencing and ignoring, and do we care?

The session offers a description of how we could ​‘do’ constructive awkwardness. How can we move from these private deliberations and find the courage to actually speak up? How can we use data, open questions, and the mobilisation of a form of rage, to create spaces for ourselves and others to slow down, stop and think together?

This is the second session in a series of three with Dr David Naylor – the next taking place on 15 July on speaking up in the real world. 

About our speaker

Dr David Naylor is a director of a consultancy practice researching and developing practical interventions to help people resist being silenced at work and find a way of speaking to what they see and know. This builds on his work at The King’s Fund, projects in the NHS and wider public sector to understand and mitigate the effects of bullying and incivility, and his doctoral research into being ​‘constructively awkward’ in organisations. He is the author of the book Speaking Up in a Culture of Silence.

You can see more of his work by connecting with him on LinkedIn, or visiting his website. 

Tuesday 15 July 2025, 12.00 | Joy in Work Curiosity Collective: speaking up in the real world

Do you find implementing Joy in Work a challenge? Are you unsure where to start? Or, have you implemented Joy in Work for your team already and want to share your experiences? If so, the Joy in Work Curiosity Collective is for you!

Join Julia Wood and John Rouse for monthly virtual 45 minute discussions aimed at navigating the challenges of implementing and sustaining Joy in Work.

During each session we’ll leverage our collective brain power to tackle complex issues and questions surrounding Joy in Work. These discussions could make all the difference between implementing and sustaining a successful Joy in Work project and one which leaves you wondering where things went wrong.

In this session, you will guide the selection of topics which means that the content is tailored to your challenges and draws upon your experiences.

The Joy in Work Curiosity Collective sessions are part of the Improving Joy in Work online group.

The purpose of this group is to provide a learning forum to bring together those interested in Joy in Work. 

Experts, complete novices, and everyone in between, is welcome to join this group so we can increase joy in our working environments.