Are You a Safety Net For Your Team?
? Lauren Schieffer, CSP
Elevating leaders to make a significant impact on their business & community. | Helping Associations Build Stronger Volunteer Leaders | Dental Speaker | Certified Speaking Professional | Keynotes | Training | Consulting
“One of the most important things you can provide to your team is safety— physical safety, emotional safety, intellectual safety. They need to know you are their safety net.” - The Colonel
As a kid, I was a climber. Trees, rock formations, towers I built out of sundry garage items - if it was going up, I would climb it. I never quite reasoned how I would get back down until I was already at the top. When we were stationed at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio, there was a sprawling oak tree in a field across from our house. I was always in that tree, and Dad and I had a running bet as to how high I could climb. One day he came home from work to find me in the tree. I’d been sitting there for about an hour waiting for him to get home. I told him that I wanted him to see how high I had gone, but the reality was I had no idea how I was going to get back down!
Dad said, “I bet you could get to that next branch up there if you really tried.”
“I don’t know… what if I fall?”
“Then I’ll catch you. Go ahead, give it a try. I’ve got ya.”
Of course, I made it to that higher branch, and then The Colonel stood at the foot of the tree and spotted me for about 30 minutes as I navigated my way back to the ground. Afterward, we talked through the routes I tried that had failed initially, in comparison to the route that finally got me to the ground. I would never have reached that higher branch or felt willing to try to get down from my precarious perch had I not known he was there to catch me.
As a complement to believing in others first, it’s important to let them know that they’re in a space where it’s safe to fail. Your team needs to know there won’t be negative consequences if they try and fail; otherwise, they will never try.
Pushing past what you know you are capable of requires the assurance of a secure cushion to catch you when you fall short. Your team needs to have the security of knowing you’ve created a safe environment in order for them to push beyond their own preconceived limitations.