2022… The year of CLARITY
The start of 2021, I decided to try something different. I chose 3 words that would become my intentions for the year. Courage, Strength and Clarity. I committed to consciously ‘living’ these three words over the course of the following 12 months.
I put the words up around my office; I wrote them in books, and when making decisions I aimed to make a practice of stopping and looking at the decisions I was making through each of these lenses. With deliberate intention I would take time to reflect and ask myself what are people needing from me right now? Do they need me to be courageous; do I need to show strength; are they needing clarity?
It turned out to be a year of immense growth. Ironically, one that at times took courage and strength. In return I gained greater clarity of purpose and was consistently reminded of how important the work is that Conductor is doing.
These three simple words kept reminding me why psychological safety is so important in organisations.
It takes courage to break-through limitations, either your own that are self-imposed or those placed upon you by others.
It takes strength to change, to be true to yourself, hold yourself accountable and also hold others to account.
It takes clarity to recognise when you need help and courage to ask for it.
If leaders don’t feel safe to recognise and own their limitations and challenges, then how can they seek the help they need and support others to safely learn and grow? For organisations, this results in an inability for them to harness opportunities, build trust and develop collaborative relationships that support their strategic goals. It impacts employee wellbeing, customer service, retention of staff, project success…literally, your bottom line!
Our data consistently shows teams with higher levels of psychological safety are led by leaders who are well supported in their organisation and encouraged to develop both personally and professionally. In turn, they better support and encourage their team members to do the same. And for those leaders who have the clarity of insights and strength to hold team members accountable in a psychologically safe way…their teams become the rock stars. Better performing but with less collaborative friction.
So, for 2022 , I have once again chosen ‘clarity’ as my word of intention. As I consistently witness how psychologically safe working environments transform people’s lives and improve business success, I’m committed to ensuring Conductor delivers with clarity, the very best insights, data and resources to support professionals and leaders to understand its importance and how to take action and drive success.
