Creating an environment where people can feel psychologically safe and can speak up is fast becoming one of the main topics of conversation as I talk to HR and OD people across all industries. Why is this so? It has long been recognised that if you can create an environment where people can bring all of themselves to work then it is possible to create thriving organisations where the full potential of every person in the business is realised.
I am constantly talking to clients about the power changing a few key symbols can have in building momentum for culture change. Symbols reflect those small decisions that on their own don’t seem significant but in the context of how your organisation operates send a big message.
Joseph Campbell once wrote ‘The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are’. What a profound yet simple set of words that seem somehow so difficult to achieve.
I was only a teenager when I first read the question ‘what would I do if I weren’t afraid’. I was young and uncertain with all the angst of being young and not knowing my place in the world. I was filled naively with a confidence that when I grew up that I would become fearless as I would somehow have all the answers – or at least enough of them to be bold.
