Creating a Safe Zone

Creating a safe zone is not actually the goal, it an enabler for bigger business goal - to excel, to perform and to succeed. High safety enables this by tapping into ideas, reducing stress levels, reducing mistakes, increasing creativity, enabling improvement actions and improving morale. And of course it helps to create a working environment that encourages employees to remain whilst also attracting great talent.

Here are some actions we can implement to help us create that safe zone:

Remind people that the main objective is to improve, not find blame. There are of course different levels of mistake but high performing environments require people to use their initiative. So it must be a place where it is "safe" to make mistakes.
Admit when you are wrong, make mistakes and readily apologise. If you start doing it, others will too.
Understand and appreciate one another's work styles and strengths. There are numerous personality tests available, some more accurate and useful than others (we can help you with this - talk to your VFS Coach or Consultant). They can be helpful to remind us that we aren't different, we think differently, we manage our emotions differently, we have different life experiences and as such we have different preferences and approaches to work. These are often unconscious traits.
Be open and practice information sharing.
Take time to learn about each other on a more personal level.
Looks for ways to give credit to others.
Acknowledge and celebrate the successes of others.
Give your team members the benefit of the doubt before jumping to a negative conclusion.
And how about:
Reducing the amount of gossip and talking about one another behind their backs.
Letting go of grudges you hold from the past.

The team doesn't become vulnerable by accident; it takes the leader to teach vulnerability and ensure that everyone buys in. Watch a description of Vulnerability-based Trust here.

Note that safe doesn't necessarily mean nice. Pressure may exist, there may be high expectations and there will be tough times. A safe place primarily means an environment that doesn't unduly induce a high level of stress (a fight or flight response) where one's amygdala and adrenal gland don't get rudely awoken and pump copious amounts of adrenalin and cortisol into the bloodstream.

Constraints and a sense of necessity often lead to innovative ideas and steps forwards.

“Hardship often prepares an ordinary person for an extraordinary destiny.”

- Christopher Markus

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