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People Are Sick of Change: Psychological Safety is the Cure (Videoconference)
Thursday, July 20, 2023 • DesignOps Community
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People Are Sick of Change: Psychological Safety is the Cure (Videoconference)
Speakers: Alla Weinberg
Link:

Summary

At the heart of any organization, people are the driving force. And people are exhausted, depleted, languishing, detached, and burned out from continuous change. The tech layoffs, bank collapses, org restructuring, and being asked to do more with less have challenged workers in ways like never before. There is a global human energy crisis, and creating a culture of psychological safety is the cure.

Key Insights

  • Continuous change creates chronic stress and burnout for design ops teams.

  • Humans need a balance of certainty and variety; too much uncertainty is biologically stressful.

  • Psychological safety is a neurobiological state managed by the autonomic nervous system, not just a mindset.

  • Stress halves operating IQ, reducing creativity, collaboration, and problem-solving ability.

  • Burned-out managers feel significantly less psychological safety and are less likely to speak up.

  • Psychological safety requires felt permission to speak honestly without fear of negative consequences.

  • Organizational culture must evolve through behavior changes and rituals to foster real psychological safety.

  • Individual solutions like EAP programs or time off fail if underlying systemic stressors persist.

  • Connection, choice, and context are the three pillars to create psychological safety in teams.

  • Qualitative facilitated sessions are more effective than surveys to gauge psychological safety levels.

Notable Quotes

"Stress drops our operating IQ by half and inhibits creativity and collaboration."

"Psychological safety is not a mindset, it is biological and neurobiological."

"Fear of the unknown during change causes physical, emotional, and psychological stress."

"People work longer hours out of fear but this actually worsens burnout and stress."

"When managers are burned out, they feel 34 points less psychologically safe to speak up."

"Culture is behavior at scale; real psychological safety requires changing behaviors, not just words."

"The autonomic nervous system doesn't distinguish between change and life-threatening danger."

"Connection, choice, and context help bring people back up the ladder to safety and calm."

"Individual contributors can create psychological safety by building intentional support networks."

"Psychological safety is the foundation for effective change and high performance in organizations."

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