Leadership dilemma: why do my team never say anything or offer new ideas?

In this episode of Lead the Room, Briony and Lyndsey dive into the importance of psychological safety in leadership and high-performing teams. They explain how teams that are afraid to speak up or challenge the status quo are often lacking this key element. Despite its reputation as a buzzword, psychological safety is crucial for fostering innovation, open communication, and risk-taking without fear of negative consequences.

Key takeaways:

  1. Psychological Safety Defined: This concept refers to the belief that team members won't be punished or humiliated for speaking up with ideas, questions, concerns, or mistakes. It's essential for leaders to create an environment where employees feel safe to share their perspectives.

  2. Link to Accountability: Psychological safety needs to be paired with accountability. While it's important to encourage open communication and innovation, leaders must also ensure that ideas lead to results and align with team values.

  3. Recognizing the Signs of Low Psychological Safety: Silence during meetings or a lack of questions is often a sign that psychological safety is lacking. Leaders must address these issues to unlock the full potential of their teams.

  4. Leadership Example: As a leader, model the behaviors you want to see. By admitting mistakes and asking for help, leaders can encourage their teams to do the same.

  5. Practical Tips:

    • Conduct a psychological safety audit in your team by observing when people ask questions, challenge ideas, or share mistakes.

    • Create space for reflection during meetings, and allow time for people to process before jumping into the next topic.

    • Avoid assuming psychological safety exists. Continuously check for signs and behaviors that show if it's truly present.

    • Never assert that a space is "safe" without earning trust through consistent actions that demonstrate psychological safety.

  6. Be Generous: Offer help and feedback without waiting for your team to ask. This proactive approach fosters a supportive environment where team members feel valued and heard.

For high-performing teams, psychological safety is not optional—it's a foundational element for success. Leaders who cultivate it set their teams up for growth, innovation, and resilience.

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Full transcript

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Welcome to the Lead the Room podcast, where we help those with great ideas and brilliant minds to become amazing leaders and build teams full of purpose, connection, creativity and courage, transforming people's experience of workplaces and leadership. In 2018, we decided that the leadership playbook we saw around us wasn't working for the needs of our teams and our organisations or frankly for us.

So we ripped it up, built a new one and watched the incredible impact that came from leading in a completely counter-cultural way. This journey transformed our experience of work, team culture, delivery and felt so, good to us. And our approach has served us and our teams in the good times and the tough times alike. So now we're here to share our stories and experiences with you all so you can become the leader you want to be. Build teams that deliver amazing things in amazing environments.

and inspire those around you to do the same. You and your leadership are what our workplace and people desperately need. We'll be laughing, crying and learning together. So let's get started. Welcome back to the Lead the Room podcast. And before we dive into today's episode, we just wanted to take a moment and say, well done. You've been trying out some of the tips and advice and practical guidance that we've been giving out over the last few weeks. And that's really courageous because

already doing that, you're ripping up that leadership playbook, you're disrupting the system and the status quo that you're in, and you'll be getting some results. But what we imagine is that it hasn't been 100 % plain sailing, has it? Because certainly that isn't the case for us when we started experimenting with these techniques. Because there's no role models around you that are really doing this, it can feel really vulnerable as a leader to actually be starting to do things in a new and different way.

And you'll probably have had some people being like, well, what, why are you doing that? Like giving you bit of side eye and like, sure. And that can undermine your confidence. So we wanted to start off by just saying, well done for being brave. Well done for having that courage, which is one of our core skills here at Lead the Room. And you know, one of the best pieces of advice that someone gave me ages ago when I started to experiment with this new way of leading was that often the feedback that you're doing a good job doesn't look or sound.

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like the feedback that you'd expect. No one's coming up and saying, well done, amazing. So you really have to have that inner confidence, that community around you that are going to help keep you going because you know in your heart that the things that you're doing, the actions that you've taken as a result of our podcast, as a result of some of our free guides that we've given you are going to transform the team and help you be the leader and build the culture that you know is going to be transformative for your team.

So keep going, but it won't all feel great and you won't get everything right. But the opportunity is that when things don't go amazing, it completely to plan, pick yourself back up, engage with our community. We've got you and we're here with you every step of the way. Absolutely. It's such an amazing and such an important reminder, Briony. So yeah, absolutely. Echo everything you just said. And it's very apt, isn't it, for the topic of today's episode, which we're speaking about psychological safety.

So, so often, Brian and I hear from leaders that the team meetings that they have, whether that's kind of online or in person, it's just silence. You know that moment when you're just asking any questions, like any thoughts, and there's just that, so, so silent. It's almost like somebody speaks, someone say something. That meeting where a group of colleagues on Zoom or whatever you're on and everyone's got your cameras off and...

And as leader, you're just staring at these blank screens and that's just horrible. And you're thinking, why is no one offering any thoughts? Why is no one saying anything? The fact that you're recognizing that this is an issue is firstly a really good thing. The fact that you as the leader see the silence as a problem and do something about it. Like that is brilliant. It's the leaders who see silence, see, no questions, no questions at the end of the meeting. Okay, great. Okay, great. That's a sign of success.

a great meeting. There was no questions. I was obviously very clear on what I said. That is where the real issue lies, Briony, right? Exactly. But for those who are asking why, why is no one speaking? Why is no one saying anything? This is so, so important. Silent teams or teams that are afraid to take risks, to try new things, are just a couple of signs that your team might be quite low on something called psychological safety.

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But before we continue, B, tell us what this is because this is sounding dangerously like one of those leadership buzzwords that we don't do at Lead the Room and people want to switch off right now. But hang on in, tell us what it is, B. I'm glad that you brought that up because it does sound dangerously like a buzzword. And if I'm really honest, it's not a term that I really love, but there is a huge wealth of evidence that talks to psychological safety being really important for high performing teams.

and it to being like a real thing. So we are going to use it even though like, you know, I'm not a massive fan of the term. But what it is, is this belief that one will not be punished or humiliated for speaking up with ideas, questions, concerns or mistakes. And it was a concept that was created by Amy Edmondson. And you can watch her amazing TED talk and hear all about it. And you've probably heard it before. But one thing that people quite often forget from her research is

that psychological safety is one access on the graph and the other access is accountability. So the two things cannot be decoupled from each other because just with psychological safety, you've got that great environment where people do speak up, where they do challenge, where they feel comfortable, where they're happy to innovate and fail. That's great. But if you only have that, then what happens if your team are repeatedly failing? Because that's not acceptable, is it? What happens?

when your team, your staff member feels so comfortable at challenging, that it actually begins to feel a bit targeted and personal against you as a leader. Also not okay. But when you introduce the other axis of accountability, you're going to be able to balance that out and get to that high performing team because you're going to have the two things, the place where people can share, feel safe to challenge, be innovative, but also the accountability.

that actually this all has to lead to somewhere that we have a code of conduct and set of behaviors and values as a team that we all have to live up to. And so that when people are giving that challenge, they're doing it within the framework of accountability that you have as a team. So that's a bit about how those two things are really linked. But psychological safety is really important. And you know, a survey from McKinsey highlighted that only 26 % of leaders create psychological safety for their teams. I mean, that

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is really staggering for me because I mean, just as an extrovert, I can't bear being in those silent teams. But also when you hear that stat, Lindsay, I just think like there is so much untapped potential out there that leaders are missing out on by not prioritizing building this as a core part of their leadership tool set. untapped potential and risk, Bryony, right? If you think about

what people aren't sharing, what people aren't asking, the risk that you're carrying as a leader is huge if you have a team low on psychological safety. I think that is a really good point. And I think about some of the teams that we've led in and some of those high stakes environments. If we hadn't had the psychological safety in the teams that we had, I can think of a few moments where people really bravely stood up and challenged something that dramatically impacted for the good

the outcome of the operational work that we're doing. And if they hadn't felt safe to do that, the outcome would have been really bad. So your point on risk is really valid. But look, Lindsay, tell us a story. Tell us about, bring this concept, this potential pseudo buzzword, bring it to life for us. Yeah. So, and also I think linked to risk on this as well, actually linked to many things. one of the things I think in terms of my approach as a leader and when having new ideas, I remember this situation where

I've been leading the team for some time and we were all quite connected. I would have probably said at the time we had decent levels of psychological safety. Looking back on it, like, did I do it to us? Did I, did we really? I don't know. However, I was definitely the leader that would go into the team meeting. The concept was kind of, we've got new ideas and I'd be buzzing with my new idea. So you'd go in and you'd deliver as the leader. You'd say, this is what, this is, I've come up with this idea. What does everyone think of it?

And there was lots of, that's great. Yeah, we should go with that. There was lots of nods around the room. So it makes you feel good, right? When people say, yeah, that's a really good idea. So there wasn't silence in my room. wasn't silence. People were asking questions because people actually were kind of curious about it. And that was fine. So I took that as a sign of, this is great. Like, yeah, it's a great idea. So I felt good. But also a sign of, okay, well, my team...

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My team are safe, they feel safe to be able to kind of, yeah, like to speak, to ask questions. However, what I didn't realize was my behavior, my enthusiasm, the way I delivered my idea. And it was very much, I've got this idea, guys, what do you think of it? I did not invite any different perspective. I didn't invite anyone to challenge me. I wanted everyone to say, great idea, Lindsay.

That is a really good idea. We should do that. It could have been the worst idea in the room. It could have been the worst approach to take to that problem. But in that moment, it was my idea. Everyone agreed because actually they felt they couldn't disagree because they didn't maybe want to disappoint me. They didn't think I'd already made up my mind. So this is the way we're going. What's the point of sharing anything because she's not going to listen.

And it's because you're the leader is right. So that kind of dominance hierarchy stuff like comes into play. You've got the power. don't want to challenge the leader. And this really resonates with me because you know, Lindsay, we're both very creative people, aren't we? And so we do, we are quite often like simmering with ideas. And let's also back ourselves. Like we've had, we have a lot of good ideas. also, not always the best Lindsay. can think of several occasions where my great idea

has not been so great. And I wish my team had felt safe enough to tell me earlier or point out the flaw earlier. It really resonates with me this idea because when I noticed that when I go first, it doesn't create the environment for other people to bring their best creativity to. And so what I've learned to do is to, and I find it really hard. I'm going to, being real, I do find it hard to just...

Like I've got my ideas and I've written them down. I'm not going to forget them, but just zip it, Briny, and ask other people to go first. Yeah. And it's so, so important. I had always equated a really, a team that was low on psychological safety was a quite unhappy team. They had a leader who was probably didn't really notice things, wasn't very happy. So I couldn't understand to begin with.

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But this is everyone agreed with my idea. I don't see the problem. And then it wasn't until I really kind of started leading in this way and thought, that was wrong. did. I did that wrong. I need to kind of check myself. I did not create an environment. I didn't ask the right questions. I didn't set up the meeting the right way. I shouldn't have gone first. My just because I'm the leader, my idea was no more valid.

or worthy of the airspace in that time than anyone else's. But in that moment, all I cared about was my idea. So it really, really kind of sings to me that that was a happy, it was a happy, positive meeting, but there was no safety. There was no psychological safety in that meeting. So it doesn't have to be, it's not all about like that picture of like it being like a really horrible, intimidating, silent, because there was loads of chat. There was loads of chat in that meeting.

doesn't mean it was safe. So that was kind of my own kind of me as the leader. I then had this leader who was, he was a classic before his brain worked a lot quicker than I've minded. And before he'd even, he'd finished his sentence and my brain is still processing the information. He'd already said, any questions, any questions? In a really quick manner, I'm still processing what he's trying to say.

He's asked me if I've got any questions. I cannot even think, let alone get any words out my mouth. Not only has he said, have you got any questions, he's stood up from his desk or from the meeting to leave the meeting as if to say, there's no questions. And he's like halfway out the door, being like, no questions, great. And he was a no questions, great person. So he saw the fact I didn't have any questions as a sign of success. Well, but also he's not even...

He like, it's not, he doesn't mean that question. Like if he's saying it as he's leaving the meeting, like he's not actually inviting any reflection or criticism or challenge because he's out of that door. So you're speaking into an empty room at this point, Lindsay. I'm still on like, I'm still kind of the end of his first sentence. Like, what was that meeting even about? And now he's like half, he is halfway out the door. It's almost like.

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He was scared that I was going to ask a question. So just remove yourself from the situation. And then I'm left just sat there in this meeting room of my own going, what just happened? And at that point, you're so like, I just thought, I just, what's the point? So I didn't feel, I just felt he, that was such an empty question. Like he didn't want an answer. He didn't, for him it was a...

All right, at end of a meeting, the end of a presentation, like ask if there's any questions, invite any questions. But if no one answers in two seconds, leave. Like, no, no, no, give us some time to ask a question. So that was a really like, this is, so my, just thought, what is the point of even asking question or sharing an idea? He does not want to listen to this at all. And that was a very kind of physical kind of reaction to someone that was just like,

But he thought it was a real sign of success. So if you asked him, how are your teams? Did they feel safe? He would have been scoring absolutely yes, yes, yes. That is so interesting, isn't it? And I think there's also something quite human about, in some ways, about his reaction, you know, because I can just recognise in myself, like I'm presenting a new idea, a new way of doing things. It is quite vulnerable for me to be doing that. That's how I feel.

Yeah. And so when I ask, are there any questions? Like I want to hear, but as the leader, I also don't like, it's going to be exposing and I'm going to feel like, you know, they think the idea is rubbish. It's going to hit up against some of my own personal stuff that we all have. Right. If people do say, you know, do it, do have some challenge. Yeah. And it's also, I just find it so orcs, you know, when you say any questions and then you're sitting there and I hate silence. It's not a really bad question.

It's a really bad question, isn't it? Are there any questions? But just sitting there in the silence, waiting for someone to actually, like you said, Lindsay, to finish processing, to think, reflect and then ask a question. That can take a couple of minutes. And I just couldn't bear sitting there in the silence. And so I've, again, I've really tried to have to challenge and train myself that to work on that internal narrative around like the challenge isn't about you, it's the idea and it's helping make the idea better.

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but then also just learning techniques to sit there in the silence when I've presented an idea so that people can process. And I'll sort of say like, okay, I'm going to ask if you've got any questions, but you're probably still thinking through what I've told you. So it's just going to be silent for a couple of minutes and then just welcome your questions. And that helps me just be more comfortable. And everyone feel like, you know, okay, it's going to be okay if it's silent for a bit, but we're still going to sit there because then questions will emerge.

I think acknowledging that silence is such an important thing, isn't it? Otherwise, everyone's thinking, how long is she going to let this go on for? How long are we going to be sat here like, someone, everyone's looking at each other going, you ask a question, you ask a question. No, no one's asking. Okay. It's such a good thing to do just to let you say, and there'll be a lot of people that will not ask a question in that moment, right? That they will want to go and reflect. Definitely.

Exactly. Right. So some great stories there, Lindsay, and I really love both of the examples you share because they're quite different, but actually they show some other different facets of psychological safety. But let's get into some practical tips that our leaders today can put into practice after the podcast. So the first tip we've got for you is to do a psychological safety audit in your team.

Now, if you want the full guide and the full framework for doing that, if you rate and review our podcast, because we will be so grateful that you have done that and as a genuine thank you, we're going to send you our 90 day leadership refresh guide, which in addition to all of the framework for doing a psychological safety audit in your team has got tons of other really practical advice and guidance that is going to help you as a leader. So if you want that.

Read and review the podcast, screenshot your review and send it to hello at leadtheroom.co.uk and we will send you that guide. But if you want to get started now straight away, this looks like you intentionally as a leader going through your week, noting the times that your team brings a new idea, challenges some of the status quo, reflects on what might not be working, share something that isn't working that they've tried, shares a failure.

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or an alternate opinion, or even just ask a question. So you're going to look through each meeting that you go to, each interaction that you have, just really intentionally look for some of those behaviors that show that psychological safety exists. And it's such an easy one. Just keep a tally in your notebook, right? It doesn't take long at all, but it's so important. As we always say at Lead the Room, you have to be the one that goes first. So be the one to ask the questions.

In meetings, ask for clarification. Say that you don't know, say that you're the one that needs help. And by doing this, by modeling that behavior as the leader, what that does is sends a signal to your team to say, look, I'm giving you permission to say, hey, it's okay to say you need help because look, I do and I'm the leader. It's okay to say, I actually made a mistake or I've done this wrong or, or I failed at something. Like you have to be the one that does that. And you're deliberately creating a space.

people to ask and to share and to look at your meetings and ask yourself, actually, have I factored in enough time? Well, like my old boss had definitely not factored enough time. So throughout the meetings, like, don't just do that awkward at the end. Any questions? Perhaps there's actually moments throughout the meeting that best serve for, okay, we've just gone through that first thing. Have we got any questions? Reflections. How do you feel about that? Be a bit more specific with your questions.

Are you offering without being asked? So often I think we say, we expect as leaders, people come and ask if they want help. People come and ask if they need something. No, be generous. Again, a core value of ours at Lead the Room, be generous. Just offer the help before having to be asked. Yeah, I think that's really important, isn't it? Because like you say, so often we feel so vulnerable asking for help because it feels like a failure, but none of us have got all the answers. And so I think you as a leader,

when you're getting to know your staff, you can see what they might be struggling with. And it is so powerful and actually, I think really helpful for them in terms of building that connection and then feeling seen when you go over and say, would you like some help with this? Like I think X-Person or this product could really help with the project that you're leading. Like, would you be interested in finding out more? Yeah, yeah, absolutely. And when your team does engage with you, please be, please listen.

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and listen again, like properly. Because again, if you're not doing that properly, like it is just, they'll never, it's taken a lot of courage for them to come and ask you or to engage with you. And if you don't listen and you don't follow through and you get it wrong, that's gonna be hard for them and they're probably not gonna do it again anytime soon. Acknowledge and praise them. Like don't shut them down if they do bring something to you because again, acknowledge, gosh, that must've been hard for you to share with me or to admit to me or to bring to me.

acknowledge what that step that they've taken to share that with you. And phrases like yes and, so when you're in your meeting and I'll share an opinion and Bryony has another one, you just try and say, yes and, as opposed to yes but. Yes but completely shuts things down and suggests that one idea is better over the other. Lindsay, there's loads in there, there? Loads of things that we can start trying out. And then the final one,

is, and I think this is maybe the most important one, is never assuming that psychological safety exists. And that comes back to the story that you were sharing earlier, isn't it? When you looked on the outside of that team, everyone's getting on, it's all fine. People are enthusiastic and positive. But when you step back now and reflect on it, you're like, actually, maybe there wasn't a lot of psychological safety because we weren't as creative as we could have been. They just said yes to me. And so never assume that it exists.

You really take time to identify with the audit that we've just talked about when and where your team are exhibiting behaviors that demonstrate that there is psychological safety. So you don't even really need to talk about it as a thing. you know, like I said, it's not a term I'm massively fond of, but there are a lot of behavioral indicators about where psychological safety exists and where it doesn't like in the things in the audit. So really look at those behaviors. And then one of our.

bug bears is, know, when people say like, this is a safe space, you know, you can't assert that you have to build it. It has to be earned. Your trust, your relationship, accountability to each other have to be earned. You cannot just turn up on day one and say, I'm your new leader. Like, this is a psychologically safe space as a team. Like, no, what right have you earned?

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to say that and assert that over the team. And I think actually it can be really counterproductive to building safety in the team, because another way you could phrase it that actually I think is better is to say something like, I want this to be an environment where everyone can bring their best, where they can be seen, where we can innovate together and we can challenge and have each other's backs and build each other up. That for me would signal like,

This is the team where I can take risks, where I can share things. And I haven't mentioned psychological safety at all, and I haven't asserted that it's a safe space. Yeah, I agree. And I think I would actively avoid discussing psychological safety with that phrase with your team because yeah, it's meaningless unless the actions are there behind it, right, Bryony, like you just said? Yeah, exactly. Great. Well, we hope that's been helpful.

and that you can put some of those tips into action. But like Bryony said, so much more in our 90 day leadership refresh and get that template for that audit, which will really help you. So every week we end our podcasts with a walk the week. And this is about us celebrating things that has happened that week, looking at what we've been learning and then how we'll grow into the next week. We're all about growth and experimenting here at Lead the Room.

So, Bryony, kick us off. What have you been celebrating this week? This week, and it sort of links actually to the theme, I'm celebrating that I had a really big stakeholder meeting that I was running and facilitating. And to be honest, the last one we had wasn't great. like the most awkward silences, people not talking, like I knew that there was so much that was not being said in that meeting.

And so this time me and the team put a ton of effort into building connection, to building trust, working with people one-to-one before they came to the meeting so that we could actually put some stuff on the table. And it had a massive positive impact. And actually we had a really rich candid discussion, like tricky in some points, creative in others, fun in others, it was great.

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That's really cool. I thought you said put on the table. I thought you were going to say the bird table for a moment. no, not that bird table. What about you? What are you celebrating this week? Again, I think it's really important, isn't it, to remember that there's like the big wins, but also small acts that you can do that have a huge impact. again, linked to psychological safety, being in a meeting or virtual meeting.

quite a lot of people in the meeting, but I could see somebody that just looked quite uncomfortable and they hadn't shared anything. No one had invited them into the conversation. I was there as a bit of an observer, to be honest, so I didn't really feel it was my place to bring them into the conversation. But I could tell that there was a lot of stuff being said that was just really overwhelming them. So I thought, was kind of rushing out the door, but I thought, do you know what, I just want to send them a quick message just to say, hey, I saw you.

Might have got it completely wrong, but if you are kind of, if that was a bit overwhelming and you want to chat it through, just let me know. And I came in the next day to this email that was just like, you could just feel the kind of sense of relief from that person. Just like, my gosh, thank gosh, somebody noticed and saw me and understood me just from, from just, it was really just from their body language, Briony, that you, just thought there's something going on here. This is hard.

And just knowing that you had had such an impact on that person's day for me, and again, I suppose back to my kind of values and things, it just, it really was like, okay, this is what I do and this is where I can add benefit here. So that was a real celebration. Lindsay, that's amazing. And that's the leadership gig I signed up for. Like that's really amazing, helping someone feel seen, feel safe, feel like there is that trust there. Amazing. Definitely. Okay. So, Bryony, on to learning. What have you been learning this week?

So I feel like this week I've been quite task oriented and you know, we've talked about it before. I do love, I do love a checkbox. I like to get things off my to-do list. But the dark side of that is that when I feel like I've got a lot on the to-do list, I can become really quite task oriented. And then I go into conversations, just focusing on the task instead of just taking, and it doesn't need to be a lot of time, a couple of minutes to connect with the person, to understand what...

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what they're bringing to the meeting, how they're coming to it, like how their week has been. And just focused on me and my task and getting my thing done. And so I think that's what I've really been reflecting on this week is how can I flip that a little bit and just start with connection. Yeah, I like that. Well, good luck with that one. I have, it's interesting. So having just returned from maternity leave, I feel like there's so many things that I've forgotten.

the role that I was doing. And maybe I just haven't really got the kind of past to think about anymore. But because I've been doing the job and in the workplace for so long, there are some things I just feel like I can't ask because it's because people will be like, you should know that. How long have you been doing this, Lindsay? And I don't want to be like, well, I've just had a baby. So I forgot. Like, no, I shouldn't have to have a reason to act like it's OK to kind of

Our brains have only got so much capacity, whatever we're kind of learning or thinking about. But it's okay to say, do you know what, I have no recollection of that and I can't really remember that. Can you just remind me what that's about? And I found myself this week, people have been kind of saying things to me in meetings and kind of tasks. And obviously they're like, well, she obviously knows what we mean because she was doing this before she went on leave.

No, no, I don't. I'm like looking at them blankly thinking, but I'm nodding going, yeah, yeah, yeah, of course. Leaving the meeting going, I don't even know what that is. Yeah. So I absolutely am learning that it's okay to ask and ask again. Like there's nothing wrong with a forgetting something or just not having the space in your brain to store everything. And that is absolutely fine. So just ask. And that's what I'll be doing next week.

Well, good luck with that because again, that is really topical for this theme of psychological safety, isn't it? That kind of fear of not wanting to ask the question because you're going to be seen as incompetent or like a failure. It's really tough. It's actually tough. Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. So this week I have been growing. We, always growing, always growing. We are running a really big event as a team. Like we're expecting over a thousand people to come and it's like a huge undertaking.

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It's going to be amazing. And the team I work with are so fantastic. Loads of brilliant creative ideas, but you know, you're just like, this feels really out of my comfort zone because it's not like I'm event hosting is not a core part of my job. Do I know how to do it? Can I pull it off? Will it be a success? Will people come? You know, will they have a good time? It just feels really out of the comfort zone. So I've been trying to embrace that and tell myself like, it's going to be amazing, but nonetheless.

feels like an out of the comfort zone experience. Yeah, I love that. And it's like, it's a different type of pressure, isn't it? To other things you feel in your job. I mean, it's like, it's like you're planning a wedding. Like the pressure of that. So yeah, well, good luck. We can't wait to hear about how the event goes in a future episode. I'm sure it'll be fabulous. So mine is a lot more kind of specific. One of the things that I think I'm guilty of at work is particularly like receiving an email and then

responding to that email, right? Without actually taking the time and thinking, should that response be an email? Or should it be something else? Because how many times have you got into those emails that are back and forth, those chains and now they're really long and people, the emotions are flowing and it's just getting a bit awkward now in that email chain. Really kind of taking a bit of a time to just step back and be like,

Is this an email response or actually is this a phone call? And not just, I think often as well, just because of our culture that we just life now, we're very instant, aren't we? You get a message, your reply, as opposed to is that the right form of communication to use to respond to that? So just been taking a bit of time to kind of think about that with my team as well. yeah. I love that one. That is such a good one. And I think note to self, I'm going to pick that up for next week.

Yeah. Although don't call me on mobile. People are like, I'm calling you. And you're like, yeah, just text me back. Please just text me. We'll always be attached. Who calls people on mobiles these days? Weird. Yeah. Don't call Lindsay. I have plenty of calls on my mobile. Anyway, listen.

LeadTheRoom (32:48.812)

Have a great week experimenting with the tips that we've given you for building psychological safety in your teams. We can't wait to hear you get on. Drop us a DM on Instagram, send us an email to hello at leadtheroom.co.uk or drop a comment on YouTube. We can't wait to hear how you get on. Good luck. Speak next week.

team full of purpose and results, people who are buzzing with ideas and the courage to try them out, and a place where you and the team can't wait for the weekly meeting. By listening to this episode, you are building your skills to become the leader that can make all of this and more happen. But we want to hear from you. Tag us in your stories, send us a DM about your Walk the Week on Instagram so we can learn what's resonating with you most. And if you're up for helping us out and taking a moment to rate and review the podcast,

Send us a screenshot to hello at leadtheroom.co.uk so we can send you our 90-day leadership refresh as a thank you. Keep experimenting and we can't wait to see you next week.

Briony and Lyndsey

Friends and founders of Lead the Room.

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