Happy Friday,

As we enter the holiday season, plenty of news stories indicate that many people will experience stress, fear, and outrage.

In case you haven't been keeping up with the news, and I don't blame you, the CEO of UnitedHealth was shot to death in what appears to be a targeted attack. Companies are declaring they will roll back DEI initiatives, which may cause job losses, and a trade war is starting, which will likely lead to prices going up and availability going down.

You might already be in a position at a company where you're making plans for these changes, though I suspect those plans are about helping the business get through these times, but I want to add something to that plate.

How will you help your people get through these times?

I'm going to make a statement that the best leaders, going into the new year, will be intentional about creating an environment where people feel safe every day.

Sadly, too many leaders are a little too disconnected from what the people beneath them experience and also believe that people will speak up. Unfortunately, when people feel unsafe, they also won't speak up. Silence isn't your friend.

Building safety in teams is a big part of my work. While creating a how-to guide is a bit too large for a single email, I will mention a few bits that help.

Signals

This may sound obvious but pose a hypothesis to yourself about how you would know things are safe or unsafe or trending either way. Then, ask what signals you can observe to give you an indication. This isn't pure cause and effect, but a signal prompts investigation. The "I'll know it when I see it" doesn't apply here.

Study Facilitation

One of the best places you can apply your energy to building safety is in meetings. Once you learn some of the basics of meeting facilitation, I can almost guarantee you won't be able to handle the dysfunction that everyone has been quietly living with. Start seeing meetings as regular opportunities to create micro-environments of safety. Working agreements, anonymous safety checks, and meeting retrospectives are good starting points.

Shift 1:1s

Most leaders know they should have regular 1:1s. Some leaders actually have them! Most of those 1:1s default to performance management, where the conversation focuses on work and how to keep it moving and sharing information. Alternatively, you can have 1:1s where you spend more of your time listening to them answer questions about their personal experiences, goals, and stresses. You don't have to solve anything for them, but when people trust you with these things, you're on your way to creating safety with that person.

I see us moving into uncertain times, and while I'd say there is demand for great leaders, there is also an incredible opportunity to be the leader people will remember fondly for the rest of their lives.

Sincerely,

Ryan