I suspect you may have heard of the concept of psychological safety, named by Dr. Amy Edmonson, and what it takes to foster it on your team and in spaces you lead – creating a space where people are safe enough to be brave enough to ask for help, disagree, challenge assumptions – to name a few.

Maybe you’ve read books or taken training around it.

Here’s the tricky thing: psychological safety is an emergent quality of the group environment, shaped by leadership behaviors and team norms. You, as the leader, are a key variable. 

So when you walk into a high-stakes meeting, and your self-protective parts are running the show? It impacts everyone around you and whether they can experience psychological safety.

The only way that we can cultivate psychological safety outside of us, is to cultivate self-leadership within. When we can move from a place of authenticity and courage, rather than discomfort or fear, the people around us feel seen, heard, and connected. They have trust. They feel safe.

Today my guest and I are talking about what it actually takes to lead groups and teams well, and the hard, necessary work of leading yourself first. 

Chris Burris, M.Ed., LCMHCS, LMFT, is a Senior Lead Trainer for the Internal Family Systems Institute. He has spent decades bringing the IFS model into groups and teams,  not just the therapy room. He has trained close to 200 facilitators across 18 group facilitator trainings worldwide. He is the author of Creating Healing Circles: Using the Internal Family Systems Model in Facilitating Groups. 

Listen to the full episode to hear:

• How empathy, tempered with understanding our purpose and boundaries, helps us lead better
• Why recognizing and acknowledging others’ emotions is not the same as taking responsibility for them
• What changes when leaders make an effort to understand the deeper origins of behaviors
• How IFS provides a model for addressing conflict in groups 
• The importance of learning to recognize when you’re activated and suggestions for approaching repair with others when needed
• How team leaders can shape dynamics that are clear, purposeful, and supportive, even through disagreements and differences

Learn more about Chris Burris:

• Website

Learn more about Rebecca:

• rebeccaching.com
• Work With Rebecca
• The Unburdened Leader on Substack
• Sign up for the weekly Unburdened Leader Email

Resources:

• The Fearless Organization: Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace for Learning, Innovation, and Growth, Amy C Edmondson
• Carl Rogers
• Intraconnected: Mwe (Me + We) as the Integration of Self, Identity, and Belonging, Daniel J. Siegel MD
• Billie Eilish – ocean eyes
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