Is It Really About Safety?

Today, there are millions of people huddled in basements, waiting for peace, so that they can finally come out to safety.

Today, there are millions of people huddled within themselves, waiting for peace, so that they can finally feel psychologically safe.

It all comes down to fear.

If people are afraid, they won't challenge the leader.

And yet, we are seeing people challenging leadership all around us today.

There are those gathering in St. Petersburg protesting the war, knowing that they might get arrested, or worse.

There is the Moscow theater director who resigned yesterday saying that she refused to earn a salary from a killer, knowing that the Russian government has silenced other critics before her.

And of course, there are all those fighting on the ground in Ukraine.

Our leadership book circle is about to start the book The Fearless Organization by Amy Edmondson 🇺🇦, which is all about creating a sense of psychological safety among teams.

Edmondson says:

If leaders want to unleash individual and collective talent, they must foster a psychologically safe climate where employees feel free to contribute ideas, share information, and report mistakes.

Having worked under a leader where many of us felt anything but safe, I agree with Edmondson on the importance of psychological safety.

At the same time, we are seeing thousands of people who are clearly NOT physically or psychologically safe still taking action.

It makes me wonder if it's really about safety, or if it's also about having a common purpose that is bigger than ourselves, and the courage to move through our fears, despite feeling unsafe.

What do you think?

Originally posted on LinkedIn

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