132. Lean Into Failure: How to Make Mistakes That Work | Think Fast, Talk Smart: Communication...

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Psychological safety is the belief that one can speak up candidly with interpersonally risky content without fear of negative consequences.
It is not about being comfortable or not having high standards, but rather creating a learning environment where everyone's voice is welcome.
To build psychological safety, leaders should:
- Make early and frequent references to the nature of the work and why it requires open communication.
- Demonstrate genuine curiosity by asking questions and listening attentively.
- Master the pause and respond productively to bad news.
- Acknowledge and express gratitude when people act vulnerably or share mistakes.
How leaders respond to vulnerability and mistakes is critical in fostering psychological safety.

Leader's Role in Creating a Safe Environment (00:05:36)

Status and power differences can make it difficult to speak up candidly.
A study of intensive care units showed that those with a flat psychological safety pattern had an 18% improvement in morbidity and mortality compared to those with a hierarchical pattern.
Leaders can create a psychologically safe environment by acknowledging, rewarding, and being open to those with less power.

Team members can contribute to psychological safety by asking thoughtful questions, listening carefully to responses, and being appreciative of others' contributions.
Psychological safety is not something that can be achieved once and for all, but rather something that must be worked on continuously by all team members.
Feeling psychologically safe includes feeling okay making mistakes and admitting them.

Psychological safety is about feeling comfortable admitting mistakes, not necessarily feeling happier about making them.
Mistakes are deviations from known practices that will achieve the desired results, while failures are unpredictable negative outcomes in new territory.
There are three archetypes of failure:
- Basic failures: caused by a single mistake, mostly avoidable.
- Complex failures: caused by multiple factors coming together in an unfortunate way, not avoidable by any single factor alone.
- Intelligent failures: undesired results of thoughtful exploration into new territory, necessary to gain knowledge and make progress.
Leaders should communicate about failures and mistakes in a way that encourages learning and resilience.

Leaders should emphasize the importance of context when discussing failure.
Two dimensions of context:
- Uncertainty: Is there a clear path to success or is experimentation necessary?
- Stakes: How significant are the potential consequences of failure?
Leaders should encourage appropriate risk-taking based on the context.
Failure can be a valuable learning opportunity if approached correctly.
The author's former company held "Failure Fridays" where employees could share their failures and learn from each other.
The purpose of Failure Fridays was to encourage bold experimentation and innovation.
Failures were celebrated as learning opportunities rather than punished.
The company's motto was "scary fun," which emphasized the importance of embracing uncertainty and taking risks.

Not everyone has the same opportunity to fail.
Underrepresented minorities, especially those in senior positions, may feel additional pressure to succeed due to the fear of reflecting poorly on their identity group.
This can lead to increased risk aversion and less innovation.
Call attention to the problem of unequal opportunity to fail.
Commit to creating an environment where people from underrepresented groups have an equal opportunity to shine.
Celebrate intelligent failures from underrepresented groups.
Work to make intelligent failures less rare in leadership positions.

Amy admits that she doesn't have a healthy response to failures, whether they are intelligent failures or basic failures caused by her own mistakes.
She tends to ruminate rather than reflect on her failures and has to constantly catch and correct herself.
Amy admires Nikolai Tangen, the head of the Norwegian growth fund, for his exceptional communication skills.
She highlights his ability to ask good questions and create a platform for leaders and CEOs to share their wisdom and messages effectively through his podcast.
Clarity: Take the time to think through and be clear about the message you want to convey.
Caring: Remind yourself that you genuinely care about the audience, the work, and the goals you're trying to achieve.
Commitment: Bring passion and enthusiasm to your communication to convey your dedication and commitment to the subject matter.