Safety and Courage - two sides of the same coin? - Gitte Klitgaard Native Wired Large Scale Digital Sast event, May 2021

Safety and Courage – two sides
       of the same coin?
                  Gitte Klitgaard
                   Native Wired
      Large Scale Digital Sast event, May 2021

Pronouns: She/her

@nativewired        2

Psychological safety

@nativewired

A bit of history

    * 1965: Edgar Schein & Warren Bennis: “In order for
      (discomfort) to lead to an increased desire to learn
      rather than to a heightened anxity.. An environment
      must be created with maximum psychological
      safety”
    * 1990 William Kahn: Psychological engagement and
      disengagement at work
    * 1999: Amy Edmonson: “The importance of safety
      when solving real-world problems”

@nativewired                   4

From the IT industry

    * 2014 Project Aristotle at Google
    * 2016-ish Modern Agile
      (make safety a prerequisite)

@nativewired                    5

Definition of psychological safety

    ”Psychological safety is being able to
    show and employ one's self without fear
    of negative consequences of self-image,
    status or career" (Kahn)

@nativewired            6

6 dimensions from Modern Agile

    * You are psychologically safe of you are not afraid to:
       *   Be yourself
       *   Make mistakes
       *   Ask questions
       *   Raise problems
       *   Take risks
       *   Disagree

@nativewired                    7

What will it help us with?

    * Asking questions
    instead of staying quiet in fear of looking ignorant
    * Admitting mistakes
    instead of hiding them in fear of looking incompetent
    * Offering ideas
    instead of holding on to them in fear of looking intrusive
    * Challenging norms
    instead of sitting back in fear of looking negative
                                                     Amy Edmonson

@nativewired                       8

Do we need it?

    * From a talk by @drunkcod
      “Things become better when we accept them as they
      are.
      Not as we want them to be.”

@nativewired                 9

Safety is not (always) comfort

                        Photo by Jordan Whitt on Unsplash

@nativewired       10

Courage

@nativewired

What does Courage mean?

    * Noun

                                                    X
      1. the quality of mind or spirit that enables a person
      to face difficulty, danger, pain, etc., without fear;
      bravery.
      2. Obsolete . the heart as the source of emotion.
    * Idioms
      3. have the courage of one's convictions, to act in
      accordance with one's beliefs, especially in spite of
      criticism.
    * Source: dictionary.com

@nativewired

@nativewired   13

What is my definition?

       Being brave is not about removing fear or not being
       afraid – it is about doing what is necessary even
       when you are afraid.

       Show your heart
       Be vulnerable
       Stand up for what you believe in
@nativewired

Comfort zones

@nativewired
                    15

It is like running

* Performance in running
  * Exercise
  * Rest
  * Nutrition

Two sides of the same coin?

@nativewired

On one hand

                         * Being brave makes you
                           need safety less
                         * Having a safe
                           environment makes you
                           need courage less

@nativewired        18       Photo by Courtney Corlew on Unsplash

On the other hand

   * Fear/courage is not good
     in the long run
   * Too safe can become
     comfortable

@nativewired                    19   Photo by Courtney Corlew on Unsplash

* “By using comfort and growth as partners, growth can
        become more sustainable and larger.
        It is a dance between the two.”
                                             Gitte Klitgaard :)
@nativewired                    20       Photo by Courtney Corlew on Unsplash

Amplification

@nativewired
                        Photo by Michael Longmire on Unsplash

Wrap-up

    * Psychological safety is important
       * And not always comfortable

    * Courage is helpful

    * The two amplify each other

@nativewired                    22

I love connecting

Feel free to contact me:

                                   gitte.klitgaard@yahoo.dk

http://www.nativewired.com/blog/

                             23

Links etc

    * Kahn, William A. (1990-12-01). "Psychological Conditions of
      Personal Engagement and Disengagement at Work". Academy of
      Management Journal. 33 (4): 692–724. doi:10.2307/256287.
      ISSN 0001-4273
    * Amy Edmonson: Building a psyhologically safe workplace
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhoLuui9gX8&app=desktop
    * Joshua Kerievsky:
      http://www.oredev.org/2017/sessions/high-performance-via-
      psychological-safety
    * Brene Brown:
      https://www.ted.com/talks/brene_brown_on_vulnerability?lang
      uage=en

@nativewired                      24