Latest news with #psychologicalSafety
Forbes
14 hours ago
- General
- Forbes
Why The Most Effective Leaders Are Forged, Not Appointed
Business colleagues meeting in modern conference room The most impactful leaders aren't always those with the most polished résumés or the longest tenure in the boardroom. More often, they are those who have endured adversity, adapted under pressure, and emerged with hard-earned wisdom. Their authority doesn't stem from hierarchy—it's rooted in lived experience. And in an era when 82% of organizations admit to placing the wrong individuals in leadership roles (Gallup), that distinction has never been more critical. Leaders who lead from experience offer more than strategy or instruction—they offer perspective. They build trust not through perfection, but through presence. They bring a depth of understanding that resonates far beyond directives, sparking the kind of loyalty, motivation, and resilience that organizations can't fabricate. Vulnerability in leadership isn't weakness—it's strength in its most human form. When leaders have the courage to share their personal setbacks, professional stumbles, or moments of uncertainty, they normalize imperfection and create space for growth. This is the foundation of psychological safety, which research consistently links to innovation, collaboration, and team performance. I recently connected with fellow author Kathie FitzPatrick - a Stage 4 breast cancer survivor and author of Achieving Greater Health and Beauty After Breast Cancer - who stated, 'Authenticity fuels psychological safety, which in turn fuels innovation and performance. It's especially important for women to feel safe sharing vulnerabilities. When team members are empowered to take risks and admit what they don't know, the entire organization becomes more agile.' Janice Omadeke adds in a recent HRB article, 'Over the years, we've learned that leaders who create space for true vulnerability foster environments where people feel welcome to be themselves.' Leadership rooted in lived experience fosters connection, and connection builds trust—the currency of high-performing teams. Vulnerability is ineffective without empathy. True leadership requires the ability to see others—not just their outputs, but their context, emotions, and challenges. Empathetic leaders don't rush to solutions; they sit with complexity, ask better questions, and lead with compassion. Empathy, when combined with experience, becomes a multiplier. Leaders who have faced adversity—whether in business, health, or life—tend to develop a deeper understanding of others' struggles. According to a report from Catalyst, employees with highly empathic senior leaders report significantly higher engagement. This isn't soft leadership—it's smart leadership. Empathy improves retention, resilience, and results. If you're a leader who wants to leverage personal experience to empower others, consider these core practices: 1 - Share with intention. Don't tell stories for sympathy—tell them for clarity. 2 - Listen as much as you lead. Experience is valuable, but it must be balanced with active empathy. Make space for others' journeys, not just your own. 3 - Model continuous growth. Leadership is not a destination. Show that you're still evolving, still learning—this grants others permission to do the same. 4 - Be real, not rehearsed. People don't connect to polish—they connect to presence. At its core, leadership is not about controlling outcomes—it's about influencing people. And few things influence more profoundly than experience worn with humility and shared with purpose. Leaders who have struggled, adapted, and grown are uniquely equipped to guide others through change, complexity, and challenge. Their credibility doesn't come from a title—it comes from truth. And in today's turbulent business landscape, that kind of grounded, experience-driven leadership isn't a nice-to-have. It's a strategic imperative.
Forbes
4 days ago
- Health
- Forbes
Feeling The Sunday Scaries? That's A Red Flag, Not A Routine
Clock on blue copy space background with stick note SUNDAY SCARIES (Sunday blues) - feelings of ... More intense anxiety or dread happen on night before head back to work, office or school - week ahead nervousness It's 4:30 PM on a Sunday. Your stomach knots. Your heart is racing. You suddenly have a flood of emotion and remember the 92 unread emails, the difficult conversation you've been avoiding, and the upcoming leadership team meeting that should have been an email. Welcome to the Sunday Scaries, the corporate hangover that hits before the workweek begins. The Sunday Scaries aren't just about mild anxiety. They're a signal from your nervous system alerting you that something isn't right. When they show up week after week, despite a decent job, a good salary, and a full calendar—they're not about workload. They're about misalignment. If you're a leader, this isn't just your problem—it's cultural. If you're feeling it - so is your team. According to a LinkedIn study, 80% of professionals experience Sunday anxiety. That's an astronomical number - and completely avoidable. Think about it - when your top performers start to dread their week before it begins, you don't have a people problem—you have a leadership problem. Here's the hard truth: the Sunday Scaries don't disappear with bath bombs and guided meditations. Those are Band-Aids. Leaders need a strategy. Think psychological safety, and here's what works: Own the dread; don't minimize it. Ask: What am I dreading—and why? If it's one conversation, prep for it. If it's everything, you've got a bigger issue. Schedule Monday wins: Most leaders start reactively on Monday. Instead, stack your calendar with early-week wins: a 30-minute coaching or feedback session, a meeting you actually enjoy, something that makes you feel powerful, not panicked. Create 'End-of-Week Rituals': Don't leave work on Friday with a mess. Wrap up loose ends, plan your Monday priorities, and write a 'thank you' to a team member. Closure = calmer Sundays. Audit your calendar and values: Are you living in meetings that drain you or doing work that lights you up? Leaders who don't block time for strategic thinking, recovery, or creative space will always dread Mondays. Fix that. Stop settling: If the Sunday Scaries have become a lifestyle, ask the tough question: Am I in the wrong job or system? Misalignment isn't solved with yoga. It's solved with courage. The Sunday Scaries aren't just a pop psychology tagline. They're a metric. They are a tool for measuring alignment, team culture, and leadership sustainability. Stop normalizing dread. Leaders who thrive on Mondays don't wait for motivation—they engineer it.
Hospitality Net
11-06-2025
- Business
- Hospitality Net
The Shadow Job Description: What Leaders Are Really Hired to Do
What if the most valuable thing you produce isn't what's in your job description? It's a provocative question, but consider this: you can hit every KPI, deliver every project on time, and manage budgets to the penny—yet still fail as a leader. Meanwhile, someone else with seemingly modest metrics becomes indispensable, the person everyone seeks out, the leader people follow even when they don't have to. The difference? They understand what we really trade in. The Shadow Job Description Every leadership role comes with two job descriptions. The explicit one lists your deliverables, targets, and responsibilities. The implicit one—the shadow job description—contains the real determinants of your success: creating psychological safety, building bridges between conflicting priorities, being the person others trust with their uncertainties. This hidden economy operates on different principles than traditional business metrics. Here, generosity compounds rather than depletes. Vulnerability, counterintuitively, creates strength. Your ability to hold space for difficult conversations becomes more valuable than your technical expertise. Consider the leader whose team never loses good people, or the colleague who somehow makes conflict feel productive rather than destructive. They're not just managing—they're creating conditions where others can do their best work. That's the real currency of leadership. The Unmeasured Metrics In this hidden economy, value is created through: Attention as Investment : Quality presence with another person creates exponential returns. When you truly listen—not just waiting for your turn to speak—you're not just being polite. You're gathering intelligence, building trust, and creating the conditions for innovation. : Quality presence with another person creates exponential returns. When you truly listen—not just waiting for your turn to speak—you're not just being polite. You're gathering intelligence, building trust, and creating the conditions for innovation. Trust as Infrastructure : Like roads or internet connectivity, trust is the invisible foundation that makes everything else possible. Without it, every interaction requires extra verification, every decision needs additional oversight, every initiative faces unnecessary resistance. : Like roads or internet connectivity, trust is the invisible foundation that makes everything else possible. Without it, every interaction requires extra verification, every decision needs additional oversight, every initiative faces unnecessary resistance. Influence Through Service: The most powerful leaders understand a paradox—focusing on others' success becomes the foundation of your own advancement. They're not keeping score; they're building an ecosystem where everyone can thrive. Reading the Unspoken Needs The challenge is that these implicit expectations are rarely articulated and often contradictory. You need to be decisive but collaborative, confident but humble, urgent but calm. Different stakeholders need different versions of you, sometimes on the same day. The leaders who excel develop an intuitive radar for these unspoken needs. They become fluent in reading the room, sensing what's missing, knowing when to step forward and when to step back. They're conducting an invisible orchestra of relationships and dynamics. Building Your Social Capital What we're really describing here is the intentional building of social capital—though that academic term barely captures the richness of what's actually happening. Sociologists like James Coleman and Robert Putnam have long recognised that the networks of relationships, trust, and reciprocal obligations we build become a form of capital as real and valuable as any financial asset. But in the context of leadership, this isn't just about networking or relationship building. It's about understanding that your ability to create value increasingly depends on your capacity to navigate and nurture the web of human connections that make all work possible. The question isn't whether you're already operating in this hidden economy—you are. The question is whether you're doing so consciously, skilfully, and with an understanding of what you're really trading in. What resonates most with you about this hidden economy of leadership? I'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences. View source
Fast Company
07-06-2025
- Health
- Fast Company
How understanding how your brain works can make you a better leader
What if the key to being a better manager isn't found in a new productivity hack, a different feedback framework, or a time management app—but in understanding the three-pound organ inside your head that runs the show: your brain? Most leadership advice focuses on what you should do. Neuroscience helps explain why some things work—and why others fail, despite your best intentions. When you manage in ways that are aligned with how the brain naturally operates, you unlock better decision-making, motivation, creativity, and connection. Here are five ways neuroscience can help you manage smarter. 1. Multitasking Is a Myth: Prioritization is Your Brain's Superpower The brain's prefrontal cortex handles focus, planning, and decision-making. But it's also highly energy-demanding and sensitive to overload. When you spring last-minute requests on your team, surprise them with new deadlines, or pile on urgent tasks, you're setting their brains up to fail. Cognitive overload impairs performance. Each unexpected demand consumes energy needed for prioritizing, problem-solving, and creative thinking. When managers protect their people from chaotic, reactive workflows, they preserve their team's brainpower. This also builds psychological safety and trust. Try this: Push back on unnecessary urgency from above. Communicate early and clearly about changes. Create space for people to do their best work, not just keep up. 2. Creativity Needs Space (and Structure) Leaders often say they want innovation, but fail to create the conditions that allow it. The brain's creative engine—particularly the default mode network —thrives when we're relaxed, slightly daydreaming, and free from judgment. Yet most work environments reward hyperproductivity and constant urgency. Creativity requires a balance of exploration and exploitation. Neuroscience tells us that the best ideas often come when we're mentally alert and engaged, but not overwhelmed; often when we are focused, interested, and under just the right amount of pressure. Constant pressure to be 'brilliant now' can actually inhibit insight. Try this: Build 'white space' into your team's calendar. Walking meetings, unscheduled thinking time, or even mindfulness minutes. Counterintuitively, making time for your people to actively rest may be your easiest to implement, but most impactful, innovation strategy. 3. Coaching Unlocks Neuroplasticity (and Performance) If your job is to get the best from your people, you need to stop telling and start coaching. Great managers ask the kinds of questions that rewire their team's thinking. That's not a metaphor; it's neuroscience. Neuroplasticity is the brain's ability to change. When people reflect, reframe, or develop insight, they're literally rewiring their neural pathways. Effective coaching conversations tap into this, activating networks for learning, motivation, and problem-solving. And coaching at the identity level (helping people explore not just what they do but who they are) creates deep, lasting change. Try this: Next time someone brings you a problem, don't solve it. Ask: 'What have you already tried?' or 'What would great look like here?' When you practice this, you're building your colleague's brain. 4. Motivation Lives in the Brain's Reward System Motivation isn't magic, and it's not about free pizza or ping-pong tables. It's about how well leaders understand the brain's reward circuits. Dopamine, the chemical of motivation, spikes when people feel progress, connection, or purpose. In many workplace environments, overuse of rankings, performance comparisons, or conditional bonuses can reduce intrinsic motivation over time. When these tools create pressure or fear of failure, they risk disengagement rather than drive. Try this: Recognize effort, not just outcomes. Connect tasks to meaningful goals. Give your team autonomy in how they reach targets. These all activate the reward networks and sustain engagement over time. 5. A High-Performing Neural Environment Isn't Soft. It's Smart One of the most misunderstood drivers of high performance is psychological safety. This isn't about being nice—it's about creating the neural conditions for people to think clearly, speak up, and take risks. When people feel unsafe (even subtly), the brain activates the amygdala and the prefrontal cortex has to work harder to emotionally regulate. That means less creativity, lower collaboration, and poorer decision-making. Managers who create cultures of trust and fairness help teams stay in a reward state—and unlock their best thinking. Try this: Model curiosity. Fail fast. Admit mistakes. Ask more questions. Your vulnerability is a shortcut to their clarity. Final Thought: Manage Like a Brain-Savvy Human Understanding how the brain works isn't just interesting trivia: It's the blueprint for managing with clarity, creativity, and compassion. By making small shifts in how you focus, coach, motivate, and create safety, you build better brains—your own, and your team's.
Fast Company
02-06-2025
- Business
- Fast Company
High-performing teams all have this one thing in common
As a manager, it's easy to get caught up in the day-to-day grind of fixing processes, eliminating bottlenecks, and streamlining workflows. We focus on reducing friction—the things that get in the way of people doing their best work. And sure, that's important. But here's the thing: Reducing fear is just as, if not more, important. A comprehensive two-year study by Google identified psychological safety as the most important factor in high-performing teams. This environment allows team members to take risks and be vulnerable without fear of negative consequences. Harvard Business School professor Amy C. Edmondson emphasizes that psychological safety enables employees to speak up, make mistakes, and learn from them, which is essential for innovation and growth. Let's face it. The best processes in the world won't help much if your team is afraid to speak up, take risks, or challenge the status quo. Fear can stunt creativity, shut down communication, and make people avoid the very risks that lead to growth. So, as leaders, we need to think beyond just fixing processes. We need to also focus on creating an environment where people feel safe and confident enough to act—even if it means making a mistake along the way. Why Fear Matters More Than You Think Fear is a powerful force. It can make people double-check their work, avoid taking risks, and be extra cautious. But when fear becomes the driving force behind decisions, it also leads to silence. When people are afraid to speak up, they hold back good ideas, overlook problems, and avoid making necessary changes. Neuroscience backs this up. When we experience fear, our brains go into 'fight or flight' mode, which limits our ability to think clearly and make rational decisions. When we're scared, we become reactive instead of proactive. This is why a culture of fear isn't just uncomfortable—it's downright unproductive. As a leader, it's your job to create a culture where people feel safe to speak up, ask questions, and challenge the status quo. That's why reducing fear should go hand in hand with reducing friction. Fixing Processes Doesn't Fix Everything Let's look at a real-world example: the United States Postal Service. In the early 2000s, the USPS faced a significant drop in productivity, rising operational costs, and declining employee morale. To address these issues, management introduced new technology, upgraded processes, and streamlined workflows to improve efficiency and reduce errors. They invested in automated sorting systems and revamped scheduling to make operations run more smoothly. However, despite these process improvements, the results weren't as dramatic as expected. Productivity wasn't increasing, and employees still seemed disengaged. The reason? Fear was still very much present in the workplace. Employees were afraid to speak up or share concerns about the new processes. If workers noticed something wrong with the new systems or had ideas to improve efficiency, they didn't feel comfortable offering suggestions or challenging the way things were done. This is a perfect example of how reducing friction—by fixing processes—didn't have the full impact it could have had because fear was still holding back the team. How could USPS have tackled both issues at once? They could have started by actively working to reduce fear within the organization. Management needed to create an environment where employees felt safe to make mistakes, raise issues, and offer constructive feedback. Employees who feel safe and supported are more likely to speak up when something's not working and more likely to suggest creative solutions. They become partners in progress rather than passive participants. Balancing Both: Reducing Friction and Fear SEB, a Nordic financial services group, implemented a five-month training program focusing on psychological safety and perspective-taking for its investment banking leadership team. This initiative aimed to overcome transformation challenges and foster open communication. As a result, the team achieved revenues 25% above their annual targets in a strategically important market segment. A multi-industry case study followed businesses whose team members were hesitant to voice concerns. All participants implemented psychological safety workshops emphasizing active listening and constructive feedback. This initiative led to improved conflict resolution, enhanced communication, and increased productivity, positively impacting the company's bottom line. To be an effective leader, you can't just focus on fixing processes. That's a quick fix, but it doesn't address the deeper issues that impact team dynamics. Reducing friction is important, yes. But reducing fear is essential if you want to create a truly high-performing, innovative, and engaged team. Simon Brown, global learning and development leader at EY, has spent years building critical skills and behaviors in high-performing teams. He shares: 'You can't automate courage. While systems help things run smoothly, it's the culture that inspires people to run toward challenges instead of away from them.' Real-world application So, what does this balance look like in practice? • Reduce friction: Simplify workflows, cut out unnecessary steps, and ensure your team has the tools and resources they need to do their jobs efficiently. • Reduce fear: Foster a culture of psychological safety, where mistakes are treated as learning opportunities, where feedback is welcomed (not feared), and where team members feel confident enough to take risks and innovate. • You/me/we: Adopt a decision-making framework that defines what decisions employees can make on their own without fear or reprisal. This cuts down on back-and-forth decision-making bottlenecks and helps people feel more empowered in their roles. • Model a hands-off approach: Is your leadership decreasing the number of mandatory meetings but still attending themselves? Making outdated rules 'optional' instead of obsolete? Without buy-in from the top, team members will be too afraid to take action on simplification initiatives that can free up time and decrease unnecessary mental distress. Leadership isn't just about improving processes—it's about improving people's ability to act within those processes. If you want your team to truly thrive, you've got to focus on both reducing friction and reducing fear. When you do, you'll create an environment where people feel empowered to make decisions, try new things, and speak up when something's not working. That's when the real magic happens.
