Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts.

Items that frequently show up as things that get in the way of psychological safety in teams and groups include judgment, unsolicited advice giving, interrupting, and sharing outside the team meeting. The behaviors that people need from their team or group almost always include listening, staying curious, being honest, and keeping confidence.

I define a leader as anyone who takes responsibility for finding the potential in people and processes, and who has the courage to develop that potential.

talking. If you have a great insight—hold it. Don’t do that thing where the listener starts nodding faster and faster, not because they’re actively listening but because they’re trying to unconsciously signal the talker to wrap up so they can talk.

vulnerability as the emotion that we experience during times of uncertainty, risk, and emotional exposure

Feeding people half-truths or bullshit to make them feel better (which is almost always about making ourselves feel more comfortable) is unkind.

It also provided invaluable insight for the squadron commander and set him on a path to address the right issue: connection and inclusion versus busyness and exhaustion.

People are opting out of vital conversations about diversity and inclusivity because they fear looking wrong, saying something wrong, or being wrong. Choosing our own comfort over hard conversations is the epitome of privilege, and it corrodes trust and moves us away from meaningful and lasting change.

we need real courage to recognize when we can’t fully serve the people we lead.

the only endeavors that have required the same level of self-awareness and equally high-level “comms plans” are being married for twenty-four years and parenting.