When People Feel Safe

When employees are scared to make mistakes, they become preoccupied with protecting themselves from the forces within the company as opposed to helping the leadership protect the company from forces externally.

How do you know when someone doesn’t feel safe in their organization? If you have to email your manager after every conversation or meeting, you know a CYA, then the company’s culture is so toxic it shouts NOT SAFE, everyone for themselves. If someone is so focused on “covering themselves,” people don’t feel safe in that company.

If there’s a lack of inherent trust and your company is more concerned about getting a doctor’s note to justify your absence from work rather than asking about your health and what they can do for you. This clearly shows that you’re only a commodity; you are not valuable and not safe.

Great leaders create an environment where their people can become the very best version of themselves because they know it’s never about them; it’s all about the people they serve.