Ten years ago Psychological safety (PS) was nothing I had heard of. Since then the Google Aristotle project and Professor Amy Edmundson have put PS on the map and tell us this is the most important ingredient to become a real team. And today everyone talks about it – but few walk the talk.
I am working as an Agile coach and as such I struggle a lot to make PS a natural part of the everyday work, and not only a great word to use. I have implemented PS in several organizations and the success factor is to make HR take the ownership, and for them to make sure that the leadership not only understands and desires it, but also implements it.
This book’s objective is to tell the true stories of PS in companies operating in Sweden, a country with the best culture to grow PS – to inspire you to walk the talk.
Ten years ago I had Impostor syndrome without knowing it, or what it was. Then I got the diagnosis from my manager who told me to speak up more. He said that I often had great insights but told them too late. Since then I have made a 180 turn and challenged the status quo, often and hard, with trust in myself and my experience as the foundation. Let’s just hope I’m not in the Dunning-Kruger effect range…! Today I consider myself to be the most experienced Agile coach in Sweden, a quantum leap from the old quiet me, but it has come with a price. I got fired more than once and/or my contract was not prolonged, due to my written “final reports” summing up my feedback – often about the lack of PS. These are my stories which are the reasons for this book.
The book will be in store June 2022 but you can pre-order your copy for delivery i april-may 2022 for half the price here
This book is an experience report where I tell my true stories. I will tell how PS is being used as an alibi and how Functional Stupidity and Management by Fear rule. But also how it can work as a foundation for a great work culture. I will tell you about the company who paid me a lot to keep quiet. I will tell you about the sect where outsiders were not welcome and where the Agile transformation did not want PS. And I will tell you about the company that actually tried, but not really. I will also challenge the role of the Union, which has safety as accountability – without knowing what PS is..! And on top of that, I will kill my darling Nicklas Lidström (the best Swedish hockey player ever?) as an example of Culture of Fear, and also accuse him of being a coward.
And it won’t be a happy ending. I will also tell you why PS will not work in just any organization, and why it forever will be a great vision.
During april-may 2022 i offer a free workshop or inspirational session on PS for your company together with a free copy of this book. Contact us via the order form here for this offer.