We know what we have presented in this book, especially Level Four, may seem like a fairy tale. And we know it is possible—we have seen interaction safety in practice. Even better, we have seen the results—the collaboration, the innovation, the way people and teams are unleashed, and the higher organization performance. When interaction safety is a Way of Life, the energy people used to spend walking on eggshells, trying to get their ideas heard, navigating mine-fields, or avoiding those they distrust can instead be put toward doing their best work and winning bigger for the organization—speaking up, being big, and reaching out to make connections to innovate and solve problems in ways that aren’t possible in an environment of fear and distrust.
A Level Three or Four organization creates space and room for people to make mistakes and truly collaborate together.
When interaction safety is present, conflict doesn’t go away—it takes on a different shape, one that is not win-lose but an opportunity for growth and learning. The focus is on the goal of creating and maintaining interaction safety for all. All people strive to walk toward their talk and achieve a vision of an organization in which interaction safety is the norm.
That doesn’t mean getting there is easy. People must be willing to be vulnerable, let go of past experiences, and take a leap—to be big, brave, and bold with others and be willing to step into a new realm of interaction with one another. It takes the dedication and commitment of leaders and team members who understand interaction safety is a fundamental component of unleashing creativity and higher performance.
So Where Do You Start?
To get to interaction safety, you first need to be clear about what interaction safety means to you. What are the behaviors that support your own feelings of interaction safety? What are the things you already do to help others feel safe, and what other behaviors can you practice to create a sense of safety for yourself and others? Make an individual commitment to be more conscious of your mind-sets and behaviors, and identify one to two actions you can do more of or start doing to build that safety. In Appendix I we identify seven core steps you, your team members, and the organization can take to move to deeper levels of trust, inclusion, and collaboration, which will facilitate movement through the levels of interaction safety. We also identify some of the key dos and don’ts to help you get started.
We know safety goes beyond our own actions and feelings, though. Think about a person in your life with whom you feel safe to be your full self, a person who supports you (even when that means giving you hard feedback), a person with whom you can be open and honest and not worry about having to be perfect. This might be a family member, a best friend, or maybe even a team member. Think about what makes those interactions safe—how they listen, how you exchange ideas. Consider the mind-sets you bring into those interactions and the language you use.
You might be thinking, These are the people I trust most. How am I supposed to get that with people I work with? Our advice is to start where you have the most trust and interaction safety already—the team members you trust the most. Have a conversation with them about what you are thinking. Ask what they need to feel safe, because their needs are likely not the same as yours. Share what makes you feel safe, along with what you have learned from this book about the behaviors that support interaction safety. Commit to ways you will support one another in creating that environment of safety. These don’t have to be monumental actions—don’t take on the biggest challenges or the least safe situations first. Start where you have support. Look for opportunities to create small wins and build some success. The first steps might be as simple as chiming in with support or encouragement when a colleague shares an idea. Think about where your organization is and use the suggestions for action in this book to guide your next steps or help identify the behaviors you want to practice.
As you begin testing the waters with those you trust, think about how you can expand your circle of interaction safety. Are there leaders with whom you can broach this subject? What about members of your team? Begin building a group of allies and encourage them to think about their own needs for interaction safety, as well as how they might put some of these behaviors into practice too.
Not everyone will be immediately supportive of creating interaction safety. A common refrain we have heard from leaders is “I have a business to run—I don’t have time to coddle people with this soft stuff.” Yes, it takes time to slow down and consider what people need to have interaction safety and work toward building it. However, given the possibilities interaction safety unlocks, we think the time and effort aren’t just beneficial—they’re necessary. Most leaders would never say, “We don’t have time to ensure we are complying with industry regulations,” or, “We don’t have time to baby people with safety equipment before doing dangerous work.” We don’t know of many organizations that can afford anything less than the best work from every person. Today’s organizations need everyone to work together to address and solve problems. And we know organizations can’t get people’s best thinking if they are too afraid to even share those ideas. We know there are naysayers out there with good reasons and powerful experiences that make them doubt that interaction safety in a Level Four workplace is possible. Some leaders believe the way to hold on to their power is to always be the smartest person in the room, and they therefore feel threatened by the idea of people speaking up. Some still operate with a “my way or the highway” mind-set. We have worked in organizations where such old-school behaviors among some leaders have instilled enough fear in people that they have learned to hold back important information or thinking, where people have been beaten down by daily insults and have been hurt too many times to be willing to trust once more.
We know greater interaction safety is needed in every organization. And we know it is possible! We have seen it and experienced it—perhaps not a whole organization at Level Four but certainly many islands at Level Three.
Interaction safety for all is the new frontier for human beings to be their best and bring their best to every interaction and, in turn, create higher performance and higher contributions.
We invite you to begin this journey if you haven’t already. And to continue it if you have—to accelerate it! Find one person with whom you can establish a level of interaction safety. Then another and another. Be the leader people trust and encourage your colleagues to do the same. Implement practices and policies that support interaction safety in everything you do.
Are you ready? It’s time to make it safe enough to soar!