“Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t, you’re right.”
— commonly attributed to Henry Ford
Whether Henry Ford actually uttered those exact words is uncertain. Historians debate the attribution, but the sentiment has endured because it captures a truth about human behaviour that is highly relevant to active bystandership.
Long before someone steps forward to challenge inappropriate behaviour, support a colleague or interrupt the early signs of harm, something else has already happened.
They have decided whether they believe they can. That decision is often made in seconds. It is shaped by confidence, experience, leadership and, perhaps most importantly, culture. It is why I believe one of the biggest barriers to active bystandership is not a lack of courage. It is a lack of belief.
The first bystander is the one in the mirror
When people witness bullying, discrimination, harassment or an abuse of power, they rarely make a calculated decision to ignore it. Instead, their minds race through a series of questions. “Did I really see what I think I saw?” “Is this my responsibility?”
“What if I’m wrong?” “What if I make things worse?” “Will anyone back me up?” Hidden beneath all these questions is another, more powerful one. “Can I actually make a difference?”
If the answer is no, intervention often stops before it has even begun. The first intervention isn’t external. It’s internal.
In their social experiment in 1968 John Darley and colleague Bibb Latane identified that taking responsibility is a key step on the bystander journey from doing nothing to doing something. Where there’s no ‘taking of responsibility’ there will be no action. A person will change channel; tune out and likely walk away. The passive bystander has great power Ervin Staub told me in an interview I did with him. When you are passive, you fail to act, you signal acceptance for a behaviour and you signal to others that all is fine or there is no support. Dr Staub told me to make sure to tell others that any one of us possesses great power when we do nothing. Taking responsibility is key.
Culture teaches people what is possible
One of the biggest mistakes organisations make is assuming that active bystandership is simply about giving people a toolkit. Toolkits matter. Skills matter but beliefs matter first. Every workplace teaches its people what is possible. Some cultures quietly communicate: “Speaking up changes nothing.” “The senior person always wins.”
“People who challenge get labelled as troublemakers.” “Keep your head down if you want a career.”
These messages are rarely written down. They are learned through observation. Every ignored concern. Every protected high performer. Every act of retaliation. Every uncomfortable silence. Over time, people stop believing their actions matter. Not because they lack values. It’s because they have learned that intervention is pointless.
This is how passive bystandership becomes normal. In such cultures people don’t just keep their heads down. Some will acquiesce to a harmful behaviour. This was evident in the ‘Partygate’ scandal within 10 Downing Street. I see this play out in sport’s teams’ initiation ceremonies and in police WhatsApp groups.
But the opposite is true.
Good cultures create confident bystanders
The opposite is also true. Healthy organisations consistently send a different message.
“We expect people to look after each other.” “Questions are welcomed.” “Leaders listen.” “Everyone has permission to intervene.” Notice the difference. These organisations do not simply tell people what to do. They shape what people believe they are capable of doing. That belief changes behaviour. People become more willing to ask a difficult question. More likely to check in on a struggling colleague. More. prepared to interrupt inappropriate behaviour before it escalates. The intervention may appear small. Its impact rarely is.
To me it’s clear, the most harmonious teams aren’t the quiet ones. They are the noisiest.
Small actions change culture
One of the greatest myths surrounding active bystandership is that intervention has to be dramatic. It doesn’t. Much of the most effective intervention is almost invisible. A raised eyebrow. A simple question. Changing the subject. Checking in with someone afterwards. Offering support. Seeking advice. Creating a pause before harm gathers momentum. Not walking away when a colleague is being bullied.
These moments rarely make headlines, but they shape culture every single day. As Ervin Staub has shown throughout his work, preventing great harm begins with responding to smaller acts of harm. Violence, prejudice and abuses of power rarely appear overnight. They evolve gradually when early behaviours are ignored. Likewise, psychologist Catherine Sanderson has demonstrated that many people dramatically underestimate both their ability and their responsibility to intervene. Fear convinces us that action is risky. Thoughtful intervention is often far more effective than we imagine.
Meanwhile, the work of Alan Berkowitz reminds us that our behaviour is heavily influenced by what we believe everyone else thinks. If we mistakenly believe nobody speaks up, we are less likely to speak up ourselves.
Whilst silence spreads, belief spreads also.
Leadership is belief in action
This is why leadership matters so much. Leaders are constantly teaching people what intervention looks like. Not through speeches but through consistent behaviour. Every time a leader thanks someone for raising a concern, belief grows. Every time someone is ignored, belief shrinks. Every time a difficult conversation is handled with fairness and respect, confidence spreads. Every time poor behaviour is excused because someone is talented or senior, confidence disappears.
Culture is built in these moments. People watch. They remember. Then they decide whether someone like them can make a difference.
My use of the term leadership here hides an important truth. You don’t need to be in a leadership role to act in this way. We are all leaders in waiting and the right culture will activate these traits.
The question organisations should ask
When things go wrong, organisations often ask: “Why didn’t anybody intervene?” It is an understandable question. But perhaps it is the wrong one. A better question might be: “What have we done to help people believe they could?”
Have we rewarded courage? Have we protected those who spoke up? Have we shown that respectful challenge is valued rather than punished? Have leaders demonstrated that everyone, regardless of rank, has both permission and responsibility to act?
If the answer is no, then we should not be surprised when silence fills the gap.
The right cultures will disturb the silence.
Building belief before the moment arrives
This is why active bystandership training should never focus solely on techniques.
Yes, people need practical skills. They need language. They need strategies. They need confidence. But above all, they need belief. They need to leave believing: “I can notice.” “I can ask a question.” “I can interrupt respectfully.” “I can support someone afterwards.” “I don’t have to solve everything to make a difference.” When people genuinely believe those statements, intervention becomes far more likely.
The skills have somewhere to live. Belief is a proven motivator. It’s a step towards responsibility.
The culture we create
Every organisation is shaping beliefs every day. Some create spectators. Others create active bystanders. The difference is rarely intelligence. Rarely policy. Rarely even. training alone. It is belief.
Belief that speaking up matters.
Belief that colleagues will stand beside you.
Belief that leaders will listen.
Belief that one person really can influence the culture around them.
Perhaps that is why the quote attributed to Henry Ford continues to resonate. Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you are often right. The same is true of active bystandership. If people believe they cannot make a difference, silence becomes inevitable. However, when organisations create cultures where people believe they can act, and know they will be supported when they do, something remarkable happens. Intervention stops being the exception. It becomes the norm.
And that folks are where healthier workplaces, safer policing, stronger teams and truly heroic communities begin. Such workplaces don’t simply focus on bad behaviour they focus on helping to make people healthy. Instilling belief and responsibility links to the term ‘Salutogenesis’, a term I’ve written about before. It relates to the origins of good health and cultures which develop belief will go a long to keep our police officers, military and health workers healthy and safe. Let’s face it when they are safe, we’re all safer.
grahamgoulden.com 