Building Psychologically Safe Teams

Have you ever been on a team where:

    • you spoke openly about difficult topics
    • you viewed mistakes as a chance to learn
    • colleagues went the extra mile for each other, and
    • you capitalized on everyone’s differences?

Then you’ve probably experiences the potency of psychological safety.

Defined by Amy C. Edmondson as “a belief that the context is safe for interpersonal risk-taking – that speaking up with ideas, questions, concerns, or mistakes will be welcomed and valued”, Psychological safety is a critical ingredient for groups to be engaged, to learn and to succeed.

Why psych. safety matters more than ever

Today the work many of us do is highly cognitive. It requires us to solve complex problems and find creative solutions to new challenges. Collaboration and the ability to get the best out of a diverse group is one of the biggest leadership challenges we face. In this uncertain and fast paced world, everyone’s voice could be business critical. Leaders who fail to create a climate where that voice can be raised freely, without fear of the consequences, risk missing out on opportunities and disengage the organization’s best people.

Employees who are not engaged or who are actively disengaged cost the world $7.8 trillion in lost productivity, according to Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace: 2022 Report. That’s equal to 11% of global GDP.

On this flipside companies that report high psychological safety experience:

    •  76% more engagement
    • 50% more productivity
    • 74% less stress
    • 57% workers more likely to collaborate

 “No one comes up with a good idea when being chased by a tiger”

How to build Psychological Safety in a team

Psychological Safety is gained over time through intentional actions. It is something that is built in drops but lost in buckets.

I work with vastly different teams who want to improve their collaboration – from leadership teams to startups and global HR teams. In my experience, teams can significantly improve their level of psychological safety in just a few months by making it a priority.

I’m certified in the Fearless Organization tool – a method for measuring and developing psychological safety, based on over 30 years of research.

The work I do with teams usually follows these 4 steps:

1.   1-1 meeting with the team leader

2.   Team completes the online Fearless Organization Scan

3.   Debrief workshop when we look at specific areas for improvement and develop an action plan. The team then works intentionally with the identified behaviors.

4.   A follow up online scan after 2-4 months followed by a new workshop to discuss and learn. Regular measurement, support and dialog.

“Start with the common goal. Then make psychological safety a common project.” Amy C. Edmondson

In the coming weeks I’ll post about the 4 dimensions of psychological safety, highlighted in the Fearless Organization book by Amy Edmondson, and tools to improve them:

    1.  Open Conversation
    2. Attitude Towards Risk & Failure
    3. Willingness to Help
    4. Inclusion & Diversity

I hope you’ll join me in discussing ways we can build open, engaged and effective teams.

First up next week is: Open Conversations

Making our Meetings Matter

 ‘The bulk of my workday’, ‘A necessary evil’ or ‘When I write my grocery list’.

Whatever your relationship is to work meetings – you probably have quite a few of them and they’re probably not as effective as they could be.

Emma Vallin

Research from MIT Sloan* suggests that only around 50% of meeting time is effective, well used, and engaging — the number is even lower for remote meetings.

A study by Wolf Management Consultants** found that amongst professionals who meet frequently, 95% of meeting attendees miss parts of meetings while a whopping 73% carry out other work during meetings.

The author of Death by Meeting, Patrick Lencioni claims:

“Bad meetings not only exact a toll on the attendees as they suffer through them, but also cause real human anguish in the form of anger, lethargy, cynicism, and even in the form of lower self-esteem.”

But it’s not all doom and gloom, well-run meetings can result in better decision-making and increased innovation, collaboration, and resilience. Effective meetings can leave us feeling energized and productive, like we’ve really accomplished something.

So, what makes a meeting effective?

Fundamentally, it comes down to three things:

  1. Achieving the meeting’s objective.
  2. Taking up a minimum amount of time.
  3. Leaving participants feeling that a good process has been followed.

If you plan, prepare, execute, and follow-up your meetings around these basic criteria, you’re meetings will be a good use of time and help your organization reach its goals.

Of course we cannot control how all meetings are run but we can start by influencing the meeting etiquette at our workplace by role-modelling great meetings ourselves.

Here are a few tips to improve the quality of your meetings:

  1. Clarity – why you are meeting, who really needs to attend and how should everyone prepare?
  2. Challenge the length – Does the meeting really need to be 60 minutes? Often a shorter meeting makes us focus and stick to the priorities.
  3. Sharpen the agenda – Ban general updates and shape the agenda like a question that should be answered.
  4. Start and end on time – most of us agree it’s respectful to start and finish on time. But to ensure we have time to prepare for the next meeting schedule your meetings to finish at 25 minutes past or 5 minutes to the hour.
  5. Start the meeting well – They energy and attitude we start the meeting with will set the tone for the rest of the meeting. What’s known as the contagion effect. So start as you would like the meeting to continue.
  6. Ask for feedback – If we spend so many hours per week in meetings, why not get good at doing them. Ask for feedback on how you ran, prepared or participated in a meeting.

Involve your team in developing a great meeting culture

We know that great teamwork is developed by talking about it, practicing it and reflecting on it. So in your next team or board meeting, ask the question:

Are your meetings creating valuable new insights for the business or solving critical problems? Or are they a series of multitasking-filled project updates?

If it’s the latter, how can you adjust to make your meetings more productive? Try and then review and reflect together.

At the end of the day, it is our responsibility to spend our time on what matters most to ourselves, our teams and our organizations. Many of the clients I work with would benefit from asking the respectful question ‘Why are we meeting’ – a bit more often. And if the meeting is not a good use of our time, politely decline.

*Steven G. Rogelberg, Sloan MIT, 2020

** https://www.wolfmotivation.com/articles/the-expense-of-ineffective-meetings

Spring is in the air – time to invest in yourself?

Japanese Cherry Blossom season is soon upon us. ‘Sakura’ reminds us that life is precious and short and must not be wasted. The beautiful blossom which last only for a couple of days is a reminder to focus on what is important.

Do you want to find ways to reduce negative stress? Are you interesting in sustainable achievement? Or perhaps you are exploring career options?

After a year of homework and family bubbles, many are seeing light in the end of the tunnel and starting to think about new challenges and goals.

Offer: 3 coachingsessions for SEK1800

I’m currently offering a package of 3 sessions for SEK 1,800 (Value SEK 2,700) to new clients. Sessions are 50 minutes and done over Zoom. (Friskvårdsbidrag valid in Sweden).

Coaching can help you:

      • Clarify purpose and goals
      • Challenge negative behaviors and patterns
      • Prevent burnout
      • Get a clear plan with support and motivation for change

Interested? Get in touch on: kontakt@emmavallin.se +46 709195374

Feedback from previous clients:

”I am progressing through a change in career, exploring new opportunities in maybe even new sectors. Coaching with Emma have provided me with interesting tools and exercises to explore the right direction. I would strongly recommend anyone in a similar situation – taking on uncertainty – to explore this type of positive and unconditional coaching.” Willeke, UK

“During our conversations Emma was always committed, well prepared and ready to challenge me. I experience Emma as an incredibly warm, humble, curious and driven person who is genuinely interested in helping other people. I could really recommend Emma as a coach! Kristin, Stockholm

*Offer valid until March 31st 2021. Purchased sessions to be used within 1 year. New customers only. Digital coaching calls via Zoom. Payment by Swish or invoice. Appointments booked on kontakt@emmavallin.se or +46 709195374. 24h cancellation policy. 

Zoom Fatigue is real – launching walking coaching

 

All truly great thoughts are conceived by walking.

– Friedrich Nietzsche 

When the pandemic forced many of us to move our businesses and work online, I must admit I found it a relief and a huge time saver. As a coach I didn’t have to worry about booking rooms or travel to sessions. But I do miss REAL meetings and conversations as do many of my clients.

So, as we all need exercise, fresh air and human connections (in a covid-safe way of course!) I’ve started offering walking coaching sessions.

If you live in Stockholm, book a 50 minute coaching walk on Kungsholmen. So you can work on your life- or career goals and get some fresh air all at once.

Contact me below to book a session or learn more!

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Is your ambition putting you at risk for burn-out?

The stress-vulnerability model is often used to understand the causes of mental health issues and burn-out.

As you can guess, two dimensions are involved: “Vulnerability” refers to our basic sensitivities and is determined by our genetics as well as life experiences. “Stressors” refers to the situations or challenges faced in our lives.

Many employers are focusing more time and money on preventing negative stress instead of treating already burnt out co-workers. Great for the individual and the bottom line!

However stress prevention is often focused on the situational stressors, such as workload with very little attention given to understanding individual vulnerabilities.

A study from 2019 published in the Canadian Journal of Nursing Research found that ambition or “being passionate about doing well” is a strong vulnerability factor for burn-out. Key themes for situational stressors were “teamwork,” “manager,” and “work and personal circumstances.”

In summary the study shows that a discrepancy between individual vulnerability (ambition) and situational stressors can lead to burn-out. Therefore, burnout prevention needs to target the individual’s vulnerabilities as well.

Through my own Achievement Detox and coaching of high performers, I have learnt a couple of things when it comes to ambition and burn-out:

    1. Like any overused strengths your ambition or achievement superpower can damage your health, relationships and even your results.
    2. Learning to control your need to achieve does not mean turning your ambition off, you’re simply using it in a smarter way
    3. By taking your achiever hat off once in a while and letting other unique personality traits such as your creativity or kindness shine, you become a more interesting and productive person.

Do you or your team want to work smarter to prevent burn-out? Book a webinar, workshop, or coaching session with me.

Source: Vulnerability and Stressors for Burnout, September 2019. The Canadian journal of nursing research 

SPA 2 ways

My partner and I went to a SPA last weekend. It was a birthday gift from my mom and sister, which also included their babysitting services. A big deal since it was the first night away from both kids and potentially the first full night of sleep for me in over a year!

Most toddler parents know that there is a pre/post children dimension to most things in life (going to the shops, showering, eating, getting dressed, doing number 2…). But the difference when it comes to a spa experience only really became clear after listening to the following conversation in the changing room:

The spa weekend girls:

Spa girl 1: I love your bikini!

Spa girl 2: Really? Thanks. It took me an hour to choose. The stress…

Spa girl 3: Should we bring the clay masques into the spa? We might feel like using them at once.

Spa girl 1: Oh, I don’t know. We have no idea how we’ll feel while in there. Oooh, this doesn’t feel good at all! Can’t we just chill and see how we feel?

The parents:

My mom texted that one of the boys was up all night and one of them is now throwing up.

My partner: My tummy feels funny as well.

Me: Can we pretend we didn’t get the message yet and stay in the pool for a while?

My partner: Your bikini is torn.

Me: You should be happy I almost had time to finish shaving my legs.


I listen with fascination to the girls and admire their full toilet bags. I quickly put on my randomly selected clothes as the vomiting situation at home is deteriorating. I grab a handful of free body lotion on my way out and slap it onto my forehead as if to say: you should be happy you have time for anxiety and even time to chat about it! 

Different worlds indeed.

And despite the vomiting bonanza I wouldn’t have it any other way.

 

Yoga – it can help with everything from chronic pain to depression and PMS

1. Yoga and the heart. Yoga can make blood vessels relax and thereby reduce blood pressure while increasing blood flow to the heart.

2. Yoga can cure chronic pain in the back and neck. When practising yoga, the muscles first tighten, and then they relax when you breathe in and out. As the muscles relax, the pain begins to release.

3. Yoga and the brain. In a recent study published in the Journal of Neuroscience Nursing and performed at 133 older adults, those practicing yoga 30 minutes twice a week showed a better cognitive function than those who did not yoga.

4. Diabetes. In a study published in the Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research, 30 men with type 2 diabetes who practiced yoga for six months showed a significant decrease in their blood sugar levels.

5. Yoga to reduce stress. Practising yoga regularly can reduce the levels of the stress hormone cortisol, and especially in women at risk for mental illnesses.

6. Depression. A study in Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice, showed that regular yoga practise reduced levels of anxiety in women with post partum depression. 

7. Yoga to fight PMSD. This time of the month you might feel like savasana is the only pose for you, but other positions may also relieve PMS symptoms.

From an article in yoga world

The powerful forest

The health benefits of spending time in nature has long been known. I recently read an article explaining why.

Nature has a way of strengthening our immune system, therefore reducing the risk of diseases such as diabetes, depression and cardiovascular disease. When we spend time in nature, the body enters a rest and digest mode, which is the opposite of the fight or flight mode we encounter when exposed to stress.

The researchers behind the article explain that there are chemical and biological substances in natural environments which can, among other things, bring down blood pressure, boost the immune system and reduce depression.

Nature is like a multivitamin that supplies us with all kinds of nutrition.

The article was published in Frontiers in Psychology

Do an Intoku today

Intoku is Japanese and roughly translates to; something good done in secret. A good deed carried out without seeking recognition or appreciation.

In times of blurred lines between what’s real and our filtered social media lives, this Japanese concept feels incredibly refreshing.

And isn’t it telling that there is no equivalent word in many Western languages?

What good do you do when no one is watching? Something you don’t share on Instagram?

Here’s a challenge. Do something for someone else today without telling anyone about it. The genuine good feeling you’ll get from helping someone is much more valuable than the appreciation you would get if you tell the world about it. When you remove the need for validation and the motive behind your action, only a pure, real feeling of happiness is left.

Be normal or be yourself

As we constantly project a polished, normal and successful life and are exposed to others’ equally amazing lives in our feeds, we risk forgetting who we really are.

Does the courage to be different come with age? Does the confidence to be original develop over time, with different experiences? Or do we need self-esteem to be ourselves?

As we constantly compare ourselves with others, do we risk diluting our beautifully weird and amazing personalities?

The world is more boring, less creative and dare to say; a worse place, the more normal we try to be.

How money can buy you happiness

We usually don’t equate money with happiness – openly at least. At a stretch we say money can make life easier.

Recently, I’ve been thinking about money in relation to time and freedom. How long should you stay in a job you don’t like? How much money do we need before we retire? Or if you start at the other end – how big of a house or car do you really need to be happy?

If toddler parents constantly struggle with time poverty – how can we get our hands on more time?

I read an interesting article from Psychology Today about money and happiness. It claims that there are 3 ways that money can actually make you happy. Buying time is one of them.

5 surprising things about becoming a mom

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1. The Mariana Trench of Love

I expected I’d sit and watch the baby for hours but I was not prepared for the bottomless love I feel for Otto. (The Mariana Trench is the world’s deepest oceanic area). He still feels part of my body in a way. Even more surprising is the intimacy I now feel with my partner. I thought the baby cuddles would fill my closeness quota, but no. I feel even greater love for my partner and want even more hugs and kisses. A very pleasant surprise.

2. Helicopter Mom Deluxe

I was convinced that I would be a chilled out mom. Someone who doesn’t use hand sanitizer before every meal or obsess over how warm the baby is. But how wrong I was. I have a helicopter mom default setting and almost feel physical pain when he cries. If someone coughs in the supermarket (the longest trip we have taken so far), I wish that there was industrial power antiseptic spray I could use.

3. Prestige flestige

I was happy to discover that I left most of my career and life performance anxiety in the delivery room. The fact that it took two weeks before I updated the blog after giving birth didn’t bother me at all. A nice side effect indeed. A sort of must-dos detox.

4. Total world isolation

I never understood the so called baby bubble before it hit me. People told me to ‘enjoy the bubble’ or ‘we’ll see you when you’re out of the bubble’. The less charming side of this bubble is perhaps that you don’t have time to read a newspaper, watch your favourite series or use conditioner when you shower. On the other hand the rather pleasant side of the bubble is that things that world affairs or my housing cooperative politics seems completely unimportant. That said, I couldn’t ignore the terrible saga of the US presidential election. On election night I for once appreciated the night feedings so I could follow the news coverage.

5. The mother of efficiency

I now have two settings. The first, a distraught, apathetic zombie-like mode that is often on after a rough night. The second, a hyper efficient mode when I can empty the dishwasher, pay the bills, do the laundry, update Instagram, call mom and bake a pie, all while Otto sleeps. I, who am usually a task master and have spent my life chasing efficiencies and multitasking, am in awe of myself as a new mother.