In the ever-evolving landscape of modern workplaces, the words of the 13^th-century poet Rumi still resonate profoundly: “Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and right-doing, there is a field. I will meet you there.” These words serve as a poignant reminder of the importance of creating a space where all voices can be heard, a space where nuance, tolerance, respect, and acceptance flourish.

In today’s diverse and dynamic work environments, embracing the “field beyond right-doing and wrong-doing” has never been more crucial. It is in this metaphorical field that the seeds of innovation, collaboration, and understanding are sown. It’s a space where the richness of diverse perspectives and lived experiences not only enriches our workplace culture but also propels us forward as a collective force.

Diversity as Enrichment, Not Division

In the pursuit of fostering inclusive workplaces, we often hear the term ‘diversity’ being championed. While diversity is undoubtedly a fundamental aspect, it is not the mere coexistence of different individuals that makes a difference; it’s the interplay of these differences that truly counts.

When we focus solely on division, differences, and polarities, we inadvertently create silos where people become entrenched in their viewpoints, unable to see beyond their immediate perspective. This siloed approach stifles creativity, innovation, and collaboration. In contrast, when we recognize the beauty of nuance, the power of tolerance, and the value of embracing diversity in thoughts and ideas, we create an environment where people can thrive together.

Meeting in the Middle

At the heart of this endeavour lies the invitation to meet in the middle. It’s an invitation to rediscover and realign with what truly matters to us as individuals and as a team. It’s about exploring our shared values and common goals, all while acknowledging and respecting the differences that make us unique.

When we meet in the middle, we embark on a journey of discovery, where conversations become bridges, not barriers. It’s a journey that leads to the “field” Rumi spoke of – a space where connections are forged and understanding blossoms.

Psychological Safety: More Than Just Belonging

Creating this “field” goes hand in hand with establishing psychological safety in our workplaces. It’s not just about feeling like you belong; it’s also about being heard and knowing that your voice matters. It’s about fostering an environment where all team members feel safe to share their views, perspectives, and concerns.

Psychological safety is the cornerstone upon which genuine connections are built. When people feel safe to speak up, they become more engaged, innovative, and committed to the shared goals of the organization. And it all starts with conversations.

One Conversation at a Time

In our fast-paced work environments, it’s easy to overlook the power of one conversation. Yet, it’s often through these seemingly ordinary interactions that genuine connections are forged, perspectives are broadened, and new ideas take root.

So, the next time you find yourself at the table with your colleagues, remember the “field” beyond right-doing and wrong-doing. Let go of judgment and an impulse to self-censor. Instead, embrace curiosity and the diversity of thought and experience and encourage others to do the same. Listen actively, speak honestly, and foster an atmosphere where every voice is valued.

In conclusion, Rumi’s timeless wisdom reminds us that in transcending the boundaries of right-doing and wrongdoing we discover a world full of possibilities. Let’s bring this wisdom into our workplaces, where we can meet in the middle, rediscover our shared values, and create a culture of psychological safety and genuine connection. In this space, remarkable possibilities emerge – one conversation at a time.

In organizations, it is an uncontested finding that high psychological safety drives performance and innovation, while low psychological safety incurs the disabling costs of low productivity and high attrition. Building on this, given the nature of events and uncertainties that continue not only to unfold on the world stage but also in our workplaces and lives, it only makes sense that committing to leading and modeling the way for others through psychological safety is critical. If you are keen to look for ways to foster more connection, compassion, and curiosity and discover strategies to model the way for others read on for the fourth and final installment of this series on psychological safety.

In Kouzes and Posner’s book “The Leadership Challenge”, they deep dive into the five practices of exemplary leadership as uncovered by their research. One of these practices is modeling the way for others. In this chapter of the book, they explore the importance of leaders clarifying their values and setting an example through personifying their values. Exemplary leaders don’t just espouse their values they live them through their actions. When it comes to psychological safety and modeling the way for others it only makes sense that it emanates from the leader of the group through their action, speech, and behaviours which in turn helps shape the culture in a workplace. In my experience in working with teams, there tends to be a propensity toward an underlying belief that everyone on the team is waiting for the leader or someone else to go first. Team members temporarily forget that they too can lead from where they are and with what they have regardless of their rank, role, or position in the organization. In fact, they too play an important role in creating, shaping, and maintaining psychological safety in their workplace. Let’s now explore ways we can model the way for others in our workplace and in life!

Own and admit your fallibility. Less bravado; more humility. Too often we fall into the thinking trap that as leaders we must have all the answers or at least look like we do for if we don’t, we will look incompetent. This is a trap, and this thinking can lead to more self-censorship amongst team members, people taking fewer risks for innovative solution finding, sharing their ideas, and identifying problems ergo less psychological safety. Leaders can show their fallibility by sharing that they might not have the whole picture and inviting others’ input on how to approach something to ensure it is correct. A significant memory that stands out for me is when I worked in ICU. During patient rounds one morning our Intensivist (Intensive Care Specialist Physician) asked me for my input on the best course of care for the patient I was looking after. He sensed my disbelief that he was asking this of me, the newest ICU team member, and said something along the lines of “Sara, I am human just like you and also have blind spots just like you. I want to make sure we get things right and provide the best care here for our patients. As the most responsible nurse for this patient, help me understand what I might be missing and from your perspective, what you think might be our priorities are to deliver the best course of care to achieve a successful outcome for this patient.” In that moment, I felt like I was a part of the team, that my perspective mattered and that my contributions were not only invited but were valued. Owning and admitting your fallibility can sound like: “What am I missing here?” “I need your help. I want to make sure I have this right.” “Ok everyone, I need extra sets of eyes on this matter. Let’s put our heads together to solve X.” Be vulnerable and humble about not having a clear plan or having all the answers and let your team know that you will do your best to find answers or share information as it is available. Be open about how you’re thinking about managing your own challenges and be integral with your word. If you’re not willing to be candid with your team members, why should you expect them to be candid with you?

Taking Stock – We are here. To create different results and build something sustainable it’s important to have an honest conversation about the current state of things. Leaders must be willing to see things clearly, as they are not worse than they are, and no matter the outcome. Leaders must understand the notion that trust is built on honest and open communication. Trust comes from an open dialogue about the current state. One of the ways you can foster trust and psychological safety is to have an honest discussion of the status of psychological safety in the workplace. This offers the opportunity to take stock and get clear on where the workplace is now so that the team can better create where they want to go from here. Some strategies that can assist with this discussion are:

• Set the pre-frame – provide clear messaging about the background for the upcoming discussion; what is going to happen; why this discussion is important; and what’s in it for the team member
• Involve the team from all facets of the organization in this discussion
• Encourage diverse perspectives from a variety of roles. Do not cherry-pick team members who you think will tell more of what you want to hear
• Hire a skilled facilitator/team coach so that all members including the leader can fully participate and be heard. This allows for a safe space for all members to have their voices heard and ensures a productive and fruitful discussion

Once the current state is known, then you can explore, build, and create what the inspired shared vision of psychological safety can look like in your organization. From here you can begin to take those first few actions to make it become a reality. Action makes the vision real.

Lead by example; consistency is key. Words are cheap, and when it comes to psychological safety, there are far too many stories of managers who demand candor from their employees — to lead by example — without demonstrating it themselves. How you show up matters and impacts those around you that you live and work. Your energy is contagious. In the wise words of Simon Sinek, “Words may inspire but only action creates change.” To assist you in this practice of leading by example, you may wish to test-drive the following strategy. Take a few minutes each morning to reflect on the day you have ahead and ask “How will I foster psychological safety today? Who do I need to be to achieve this? What will I do or how will I act that would demonstrate this?” Then take a moment to envision yourself going about your day while modeling those psychologically safe fostering behaviours.

Embrace and appreciate messengers. When a team member comes forward via text, email, or in person with their ideas, concerns, input, or challenge, acknowledge and appreciate their action regardless if you will implement or utilize their suggestion at the time. You can honour and appreciate their contribution with a simple yet effective thank you “Thank you John, for bringing this to my attention. I appreciate your input.” Or “I’m glad that you brought this idea forward. Thank you for doing that. Give me some time to think on it and I’ll get back to you.” Doing this not only reinforces connection it fosters trust with that team member that it is safe to bring things up or share their ideas. This strategy strengthens one we covered in part 1 on connection and declaring there is space at the table for everyone’s voice to be heard.

Look for learning and growth in all situations. Too often we get caught up in focusing on what went wrong in situations and then look to blame, criticize, or judge ourselves or others for not getting the outcome we wanted. Instead, embrace the principle that there is no such thing as failure only feedback or results. Either we get the results we want or the lesson, learning, and growth that we need. One way to assist in modeling this strategy is to first scan for at least three things that did go well in the presentation, meeting, or project. From there then begin to explore as you look back on the entire situation what one thing would make it even better for next time or ask what our one big takeaway from all of this is. Looking for learning and growth in all situations helps to maintain perspective it also helps us to foster a workplace that promotes and values the safe passage of learning including taking risks, making mistakes, and developing fresh approaches.

Enroll others in helping to find solutions. Doing so helps facilitate a shared mentality that we are all part of the team and that all members’ perspectives are valued. As we covered in part 3, fostering curiosity through asking high-quality questions are also a terrific way to enroll others in helping to find solutions. High-quality questions spark creative thinking and innovative solution-finding. They typically begin with “How” or “What”, are open-ended, and give you the set-up for finding solutions. Here are some examples, “How else might we approach this project/challenge?” “What are new ways that we haven’t yet thought of that we can use to approach this that will amplify our results?” “If those possibilities are no longer available, how else can we achieve the result?”

Be patient. Many times, leaders get caught up in thinking that shifting a workplace towards one that is more psychologically safe can happen overnight. It takes deliberate and consistent effort and over time will yield results. The invitation here is to value doing what’s right over what is fun, fast, easy, and yields instant results. Start small and be consistent. Know that tiny and consistent inputs over time will compound and yield incredible results.

In conclusion, shifting a workplace culture to one that is more psychologically safe takes time, consistent effort, and a megaton of patience. I encourage you to value progress over perfection, and the process over outcomes/results. Know that every time you step up and model the way for others you are putting in your vote for building a psychologically safe workplace. For any of you who may find yourself saying something like this to yourself “Yeah but, I am only one person” consider the following. A study from Leeds University suggested that it takes only 5% of the workforce to influence the behaviours of the rest. Be a force for good and keep stepping up and leaning into modeling the way for others. Who you are, and how you show up matters. Lead with what you have from where you are.

Finally, my charge to you is this, in the most basic sense, to treat human beings as they deserve to be treated—without arbitrary distinctions. See, acknowledge, accept, encourage, and respect them. I can promise you that if you can create a little more psychological safety for your fellow humans throughout your facets of life, it will positively impact and change their life and yours.

To explore impactful and results-driven strategies on how to improve psychological safety in your workplace team contact Sara@sarawegwitz.com or visit sarawegwitz.com.

Psychological safety can be defined as “a shared belief held by members of a team that others on the team will not embarrass, reject, or punish them for speaking up.” When psychological safety in the workplace is high it helps to foster trust, enables others to act, bolsters engagement, and enhances the resiliency of individuals and the organization. The benefits of having high levels of psychological safety can also look like team members putting in more discretionary work effort for projects and tasks; productivity increasing and thus yielding positive business results; and vastly improving the agility of an organization to adapt and innovate in a fast-changing and competitive market. Each team member, regardless of rank or role within an organization, plays an integral part in the creation, maintenance, and sustainability of psychological safety.

In part 1 of this four-part series on exploring practical ways to foster psychological safety in the workplace (and in life) I covered the important role that connection plays. In part 2 we’ll explore how compassion can positively impact psychological safety.

In times like these many folks are operating with shorter fuses and frazzled nervous systems which can adversely impact the way they show up, especially in the ways they interact with us. Some of these interactions may include phone calls from disgruntled clients or community members, short-tempered and edgy family members, or snappy interactions with discontented co-workers. All of which can add unnecessary stress to our already at-capacity mental and emotional state.

And yet, when you choose to see beyond the presenting behaviours, you’ll realize that what these folks need (especially now more than ever) is to be seen, heard, and cared for. To put it another way, the more you can understand what’s going on with people, the more compassion, connection, and positive influence you can have as a peer, team member, parent, leader, professional, loving partner, or friend. Awareness of others’ circumstances by trying to “put ourselves in their shoes” and showing compassion are conduits to how we can achieve that.

What is compassion?

Compassion is often regarded as being sensitive to caring about the feelings of others. It involves feeling another person’s pain and wanting to take steps to help relieve their suffering. The word compassion itself derives from Latin and means “to suffer together.”

Compassion is related to other emotions such as sympathy, empathy, and altruism, although there are some key differences. Empathy refers more to the general ability to take another person’s perspective and feel the emotions of others. Compassion, on the other hand, is what happens when those feelings of empathy are met with the desire to help. Compassion motivates people to go out of their way to relieve the mental, emotional, and/or physical pains of others and themselves.

The great news is that developing compassion does not require years of training and can be cultivated quite quickly. With deliberate focus and intention, we can nurture and cultivate a more compassionate outlook and by extension take compassionate actions. Doing so will help to foster more psychological safety in the workplace and life. Here are some ways to foster compassion with others:

See the person beyond the behaviour. All behaviour has a positive intent (no matter how it might appear). What is important is to see beyond the presenting behaviour and be curious to discover the intention. Doing so will also help you get a clearer picture. Most times the person’s intention can get lost in their behaviour and speech gets lost in translation. In these situations, it can benefit all involved if you come from a place of curiosity to try and understand their point of view or situation. By doing so you will begin to build trust, rapport, and connection through this compassionate action.

 Seek to understand. 99% of the time most people’s intentions are pure and good. Take a genuine interest in getting to know what is important to other people; seek to understand their perspective (especially when it is opposite to yours). To jump-start, consider asking yourself ahead of the interaction “What are three things that I am going to like, appreciate, or admire about this person?” You can also seek understanding by first finding commonalities. Rather than focusing on how you differ from others, try instead to recognize what you have in common. Reflect on the commonalities you have with everyone else – we are all connected to the larger human experience.

Hang up your judgement and labels and exchange them for appreciation and acceptance. When we label someone, we lose our ability to see what we can gain or learn from the other person, and we miss out on an opportunity to positively influence them. We short-change ourselves on experiences and the ability to learn and grow from one another. When we label ourselves, we cut off the resources we have available that could help or serve us. Keep labels for soup cans, not people.

Remember you are a W.I.P. Spoiler alert: You are a work in progress (W.I.P.) like everyone else. Everyone (including you) is doing the best they can with what they know and have from where they are. Be mindful that you may not have the whole story or picture of what is going on with someone else. We will never know what might be going on for someone behind the scenes. Remembering that you are a work in progress will help you to maintain compassion for others.

BE present and fully listen. Avoid allowing your ego or bravado from jumping in to instantly “respond”, “fix” things, or “rescue” the person. Despite our good intentions, in doing so, we rob the other person of getting the lesson, learning, and growth that they need. Hold space for the other person with your focus, attention, and listening. Another thing to keep in mind is that only 7% of how we communicate is through the words we use. 93% of how we communicate is through our tone of voice and largely our physiology (body language). When someone is speaking do what you can to minimize distractions and be fully present. It’s never about having the perfect things to say; it’s about your presence. So rather than overthinking what you should or will say in response, simply BE present. By providing a safe space for the person to share what is going on for them you’ll foster compassion, connection, and trust.

Show compassion, especially when your own experience is different. Your model of the world and perspective is different based on your past, history, experiences, decisions, memory, current outlook, life circumstances etc. Remember your humanness and that human suffering is something we all experience at times in our lives. At some point, you may need compassion and understanding from others too.

When we show and share compassion with others not only do they feel seen, heard, and connected we reap the positive benefits as well. Compassion is contagious and is a cornerstone for psychological safety. The higher the level of psychological safety a workplace team has will yield many positive benefits that will positively impact individual team members, the team, and ultimately business operations. Be sure to model, offer, show, and share it with others that you live and work with and watch what unfolds.

A couple of questions for you to consider on fostering compassion with those that you live and work with:

Taking the perspective of a detached observer, like a “fly on the wall”, how do you show compassion in your daily life towards others whom you live and work with? What do you notice or observe?

Given that, what new ways might you use to demonstrate and foster more compassion with those you live and work with?

Next week we’ll continue part 3 in exploring practical ways to foster psychological safety in the workplace and life.

To explore impactful and results-driven strategies on how to improve psychological safety in your workplace team contact Sara@sarawegwitz.com or visit sarawegwitz.com

Thanks to the power of nature, you can improve your mental health in as little as five minutes.

Researchers at the University of Essex in the United Kingdom looked at the impact exercising in a green environment has on mental health. They found that only five minutes of movement in a green setting (e.g., walking, gardening, cycling outdoors) was enough to mentally recharge and boost mental health. After five minutes the benefits plateaued suggesting that the biggest return on investing time outside is gained in the first five minutes.

It is incredible that in as little as five minutes of outdoor activity in nature, you can give your brain a break, gain a fresh outlook and offer a mental reboot. Take time throughout the day to take a break and tap into its health benefits.

Research also suggests that spending time in nature may:

Lower the stress hormone cortisol

Lessens the physical and mental effects of stress

Reduce blood pressure and heart rate

Increase immune cells called natural killer cells that fight viruses

Give a boost to your mood

Help to lift depressive symptoms

Decrease feelings of anxiety and worry

Improve mental clarity, focus, and concentration

Ways to incorporate more nature into your day:

• Spend time outdoors on your coffee or lunch break by taking a walk through a local park or find a spot near the ocean or body of water to take in nature.
• Consider moving your meetings outdoors. Walking meetings are a terrific way to connect with others while benefitting from being outdoors. Win/win!
• Put it into your schedule; block time each day to head outside
• Head out for a hike on a day off and notice the different shades of autumn that are present
• Consider bringing the outdoors in by incorporating more plants into your workspace

Write yourself a “wellness prescription” of taking a nature break 5 minutes/day and repeat, as necessary. Your wellbeing will thank you for it.