True Leaders Do the Human Work First

Much as people connect when we explain what Psychological Safety is, we have had to concede of late that a singular moment of connection, no matter how strong, is not good enough and to overcome the great “Human Debt” we have to remind them over and again. Never once and done when it comes to the moment of “a-ha!”

Over time, we have learned to see that moment when we speak to people about it - their eyes go from glazing over yet another human topic to widening with surprise and delight at the recollection of that one time when they were in a team that was flying high and making magic and realising that that feeling of bubble, of family, of tight winning was due to Psychological Safety.

Nonetheless, in particular now, when life is abnormal, frightening and hard for most of everyone, day-to-day operational needs feel overwhelming and it’s hard not to default to forgetting about the revelation of how much better life in a team is when we do the human work. 

Who needs to do the human work then? Obviously, as we said time and again, everyone, the team collectively. It isn’t something a team leader - whether a line managers, a tech lead or a CEO, all fall under the same definition- can do on their own. 

What they can and absolutely must do though, is keep it front of mind and provide the “space” for it. They can do much to reaffirm the permission the team has to preoccupy themselves with it, they can be clear as a whistle on how much value they place on it, they can protect feedback and the conversational space, they can help smooth ways with the organisation and ensure the integrity of the bubble, and most importantly, they can get themselves better. 

And this betterment is not about dry or too lofty of topics such as “raise NPS” or “increase engagement” or my favourite sterile corporate rhetorics -which is frankly borderline insulting in its futility- “ensure employee happiness” but real to-do’s, actionable, doable, effective such as these:

• Become obsessed with the team as a bubble worth protecting and bettering. Think every action, every sprint, every conversation onwards and downwards through the prism of the unit and its best interest. “What will this mean to the team dynamic?“; “Would this make us more or less Psychologically Safe?”; “How will our team feel?” should be daily questions in any leader’s mind.
• Make the human work priority. Always break the human work into exact tasks and obstinately drag those at the top of the backlog for both the team and themselves. If a team action needs to happen that week to increase Engagement or Learning or make them more Flexible, make that top priority. If there are any 1-on-1s waiting to happen, do those before any of the other tasks on the list, etc. Always priority.
• Increase their own EQ. Not easy but doable. Learning to be reflective, self-aware, empathic is all doable with enough goodwill and intentionality. Coaching works wonders for this but a self-taught understanding of Psychology and team dynamics is an effective pathway as well. 
• Stay alert about observing and dismantling any sign of Impression Management they can see to prevent their people from being fearful and therefore not speaking up. To do that, get the right feedback mechanisms in place. Ditch the company level “surveys” that only serve as an excuse not to hear each other at times and learn to listen at team level. Software like ours, solid open communication frameworks, they all ensure the feedback loop is tight and protected and brings valuable data. Focusing on hearing their people and helping them be curious about their data as well is the best way to prevent impression management. 
• Intensely care. The trickiest of them. If we were to get a true account of why anyone is a manager instead of a leader; if we could X-ray the minds and souls of those in charge of humans who chose to do command and control instead o servant leadership; if we could see inside the soul of anyone who is supposed to lead, help, inspire and do all this human work and instead chooses to ignore it; we’d always see their heart is not in it. The care is no longer there. Some times it’s out of sheer burnout, other times it’s a collection of personal fears that confines them to their lane and makes them stop fighting the good fight. Whatever the reasons - care is missing. And if we all could take a moment to check our care levels and be honest about them, we’d maybe find ways to be courageous enough to regain it.

Some leaders are still out there hoping the “fluffy human work” is not actually urgent or necessary and maybe, just maybe, it’s more an invention of the consultancies than a reality. Some never heard of Psychological Safety and never saw the tangible results Google and others get thanks to it so they never made the mental link between the human part and the bottom line, so they simply perpetuate the “human debt” but think they need to, as it has nothing to do with performance or profitability. Some know it makes intense and important sense but quite frankly, in their hearts of hearts, they can’t be bothered. Too tired, too disengaged, too busy sending their resumes around. 

Some, likely those reading this, have enough reserves of the 5th to work on the first 4 and hats off to them for doing so. 

Tomorrow we’ll give you some examples of what we see leaders do when they make these steps a priority and share some of their tips but meanwhile - may you have a week where you find enough emotional investment in your heart to keep making team magic. 

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Don't send your teams home with a laptop, a Jira and Slack account and a prayer!

Get in touch for our Team Psychological Safety Dashboard and our Stay-Connected-When-Remote question pack at www.psychologicalsafety.works or reach out at [email protected] and let's help your team become healthy, happy and highly performant.