Amy Edmondson: Creating Psychological Safety at Work

02/26/20 • 27 min

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When Google embarked on an extensive study to understand what makes for a high-performing team, it was Amy Edmondson’s research on “psychological safety” that became the foundation of the company’s findings. Edmondson, a Harvard Business School professor and organizational behavior expert, joins the podcast to talk about her latest book, The Fearless Organization. She says that “psychological safety describes a climate at work where one believes that you can freely speak up with any idea, concern, question, even mistakes.” It’s “a sense of permission for candor.” She explains the benefits of creating psychological safety in the workplace and why it’s essential for learning, innovation, and growth in the knowledge economy. Listen to this podcast episode to learn: • Do better teams make fewer mistakes, or are they more willing to talk about them? • Why “problems are gems” and how leaders can use mistakes to improve performance • Why customer truths don’t always tend to make it up the corporate hierarchy • Differences between the “comfort zone” and the “anxiety zone” at work, and why the latter is more dangerous • Misconceptions about what psychological safety is (and what it isn’t) • Actions we can all take to create greater psychological safety at work and in our personal lives

Previous Episode

Steve Blank: Rethinking the Lean Startup (And What Comes Next)

In 2013, Steve Blank, adjunct professor at Stanford University, and one of three co-founders of the Lean Startup Movement, wrote a front-cover article for Harvard Business Review entitled, “Why the Lean Start-Up Changes Everything.” It was a call to action for large companies to embrace the lean startup methodology of innovation. But after spending the past seven years working with large companies, Blank now believes his initial thesis was wrong. Large companies are not bigger versions of startups anymore so than startups are smaller versions of large companies. Applying lean startup methods in large companies creates “innovation theater” and not real innovation. Blank joins the podcast to talk about his next big idea for business: the Innovation Doctrine. He describes the fundamental changes large organizations need to make to their thinking, leadership, and structure to innovate faster than competitors and the perpetual disruption happening around them. Listen to this podcast episode to learn: • The core differences between startups and big companies • The origins of the Customer Development Method and a brief overview of the Lean Startup Movement • The key aspects of the Innovation Doctrine and how it aligns with current business methodologies • Why companies need rule books to draw innovation from the “frozen middle” • Why a dysfunctional upbringing can be an asset for entrepreneurs or anyone operating in a chaotic environment • Life and work lessons Steve learned from serving in the Vietnam War

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Bill Walshe, CEO, Viceroy Hotel Group: What People Want From a Luxury Experience

In luxury, “cookie cutter” doesn’t cut it. And for a luxury hotel brand, it has to strike a delicate balance between delivering a guest experience that’s both consistent and one-of-a-kind. Bill Walshe, CEO at Viceroy Hotel Group, says that consistency shouldn’t stifle the things that guests remember: spontaneity, authenticity, individuality, and creativity. He calls his philosophy “consistent individuality.” Viceroy Hotel Group maintains 15 properties around the world, from St. Lucia to Los Cabos to Beverly Hills and beyond, with another 8 soon to enter the brand’s portfolio. Each maintains its own distinct sense of location and destination while also sharing Viceroy’s brand essence. Walshe joins the podcast to give his take on what luxury means in the service industry today, and how Viceroy designs its experience around changing guest preferences, new technologies, brand partnerships, and shared values. Listen to this podcast episode to learn: • Why hotels aren’t just service providers; they’re content providers with Instagrammable moments in mind • From celebrity chefs to spin studios, how the right brand partnerships and alliances add value to the guest experience and future-proof the business • Why guests want to stay at hotels where they feel they're making a positive impact on the world through a “contribution without compromise” • Why Viceroy decided to open the first-ever hotel designed around celebrating female achievement and empowerment (Hotel Zena in Washington, DC) • Is luxury’s assumed exclusivity a “historically passé” notion?