May 21, 2024 • 45 mins
🎙This week on Conflict Managed we are departing from our regular format to discuss Vanguard Voices upcoming International, fully Virtual Speak Up Summit taking place June 13-14th 2024 across all time zones.
To discuss The Vanguard Voices Speak Up Summit, we are re-joined by friend of the show, Jessica Bensch, a passionate advocate for psychological safety at work and founder of Vanguard Voices.
The Speak Up Summit: June 13-14th, 2024:Â This groundbreaking 24+ consecutive hour, fully virtual summit (www.thespeakupsummit.com) will bring together thought leaders, academics, advocates and employees worldwide on a common platform, united by a shared goal: to amplify awareness and exponentially increase psychological safety at work.Â
There are many events online: This one is different. This is the building of a global community of changemakers - across companies, industries, countries worldwide. We are building a global movement: We have prominent speakers such as Kim Scott (Author of 'Radical Candor'), Tim McClure, Michele Zanini (Co-Author of 'Humanocracy') and so many others at this Speak Up summit joining us in this effort.
You will -  ▶️  Gain practical strategies to foster psychological safety and develop high performance teams ▶️  Learn how to address issues such as abuse of power, toxic personalities, and mental health for a healthier work environment ▶️  Network with professionals who are committed to creating positive workplace cultures ▶️  Hear from experts who will challenge your perspectives and inspire actionable change in your organization
 By attending this summit, you receive:
- Â Full access to the 24-hour event featuring 50+ speakers around the world (FULLY VIRTUAL)
- Â Networking opportunities with the speakers and a global audience of professionals and experts
- Â 1:1 Coaching Sessions with certified coaches (first-come, first-serve)
- Â A resource guide with the key practical actions from all sessions from each of the 50+ sessions that can be implemented in your organization
- Â Access to The Speak Up Summit recordings for future reference
- Â A free copy of one of the keynote speakers books (as supplies last)
This is a not-for-profit initiative. We want as many people as possible who are gravitated to this topic to come. We are committed to making this event accessible to a wide audience. We offer discounts for individuals facing unemployment, region-specific discounts, and group discounts. (www.thespeakupsummit.com)
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:03):
All right,
this is all right.
I got it.
I do wraps now,
get a sound side uptight jack asking questions.
(00:25):
Welcome to Conflict Managed.
I'm your host,
Merry Brown.
This week on Conflict Managed,
we are departing from our regular format to discuss vanguard voices,
upcoming international fully virtual speak up summit taking place June 13th to the 14th,
2024 across all time zones to discuss vanguard voices,
speak up summit.
We are rejoined by a friend of the show,
(00:46):
Jessica Bench,
a passionate advocate for psychological safety at work and founder of Vanguard Voices.
Jessica is a Canadian Indian living in Switzerland and working as an agile coach in a pharmaceutical company.
She has managed many high profile organizational change projects and led employee engagement initiatives over the course of 20 plus years.
(01:07):
Jessica is now building a worldwide not for profit movement,
vanguard voices on the topic of psychological safety.
She deeply believes that we do not change the world simply by keeping quiet and perpetuating the status quo.
We make positive change by confronting our fears and speaking out our truth individually and collectively.
Good morning Jessica and welcome to Conflict Managed.
(01:29):
Thanks for having me,
Mary.
I'm so glad to have you back and over the moon to talk about what we're going to talk about today,
which is Vanguard Summits,
speak up international Conference coming up this June 13th through the 14th,
2024.
And I am so excited about this um international endeavor that you have put together with the help of many,
(01:52):
many partners to talk about psychological safety,
but more than that to actually bring it about so that people can have environments in which they feel heard,
ability to speak up without fear of retribution and looking over the amazing speakers and what you have lined up is just really awe inspiring.
(02:15):
I'm so looking forward to the summit.
But before we get into it,
I would like to know the origin story.
How did this summit come about?
So I founded a not for profit association called Beard Voices.
This was founded in December 2022 and I founded this because I've been in the corporate workspace for a number of years now.
(02:38):
And I've always felt like we can do more in our organizations in terms of showing up more as our quote unquote authentic selves.
And I,
I felt that we weren't doing enough in,
in our workplaces.
There's a lot of trainings,
there's a lot of awareness,
there's a lot of talk sessions,
(02:59):
but where was the actual impact?
Where was the actual shifts and moves being made?
I,
I just wasn't seeing it there.
And so in creating vanguard voices,
the vision is to create a global movement in this case,
to bring the topic of psychological safety to the top of workplace agendas.
And over the last year and a half,
(03:21):
we've been doing a number of speaking engagements doing just creating more awareness on the topic.
But the vision has always been to link arms with as many partners as possible because we know there's amazing work being done around the world.
But we're all making impact in our sort of different corners.
(03:41):
But how much more powerful if we were to link arms together.
And so the speak up summit is our first opportunity,
the first phase of this global movement to have a number of partners together on one platform.
I absolutely love that vision because it is the case,
there's a lot of people doing good work out there.
And unfortunately,
(04:03):
what makes the press is the bad news,
the red flags very rarely do we see the green flags out there and the progress that our people are making.
But the wonderful thing about hearing about progress is that it helps spark in the individual.
Well,
what can I do?
How can I take that idea and run with it?
Or of course,
a lot of times as you know,
(04:24):
in,
in organizations,
people feel a lot of despair such as things are never gonna change,
nothing can get better.
This is just the way of work.
But the more we hear from other voices around the world and different cultures and different kinds of sectors,
we can say,
no,
we don't have to settle for that.
We can actually have healthy work environments.
(04:45):
And the more we can learn from other people,
you know,
why do we have to re invent the wheel every single time in every organization?
Yeah,
absolutely.
About six years ago,
I actually did a cross grassroots effort in,
in my day job in my normal organization.
And one of the common themes that I saw and heard is,
(05:08):
oh,
I'm not alone.
So we collected workplace stories from around the world and we saw one story after another,
from one end of the world to the other being very,
very similar.
And so it's,
it was,
it's a human topic.
And II,
I heard that statement,
(05:28):
I don't feel alone.
I'm not the only one and a lot of times when people are going through those challenging situations at work,
they do feel isolated,
they don't know who to speak to.
There is sometimes this culture of silence in organizations.
And so,
you know,
is it safe even to break that silence by sharing your story.
Here's a platform where a number of people can share your,
(05:52):
share our stories and just amplify that awareness and the need for psychological safety in,
in all our workplaces,
no matter where we are solidarity is so important because you're right with this conflict and,
and issue at work have this effect of isolating us.
And when we feel isolated,
(06:12):
it is a disempowering position and we are confused and we don't know what to do.
And so to have a place to learn from others to,
to hear that we aren't alone to,
to,
to,
and then to see how they moved forward and it doesn't mean that we have to do exactly what other people did,
but that there are many different kinds of paths.
(06:34):
And so to start to think,
ok,
well,
what is my path?
This is my situation.
Other people have had these kinds of issues.
So what's next?
And I think it's a way to turn our head from looking down towards the future and what am I going to do next?
And,
and how can I partner with others to help me make that next step?
(06:54):
Yeah,
absolutely.
You remind me of the situation I had years ago where I felt,
um,
disempowered where I,
my head was,
um,
looking down and I actually reached out to a coach for help thinking the coach would give me,
I didn't really understand the concept of coaching at that time,
but I thought she was going to give me some magical answer to help me out of the situation.
(07:16):
And we were,
we were,
you know,
had a number of sessions together and then finally,
um at some point,
she said to me,
I can't help you.
And because the situation was something around the system,
this uh the workplace system.
And um,
I felt quite alone,
even abandoned at,
(07:37):
in that moment.
And what I came to realize was,
yeah,
like now being on the other side,
because I'm also a life coach.
Now I realized,
yeah,
there is only so much another person can do,
you know,
especially in the context of workplace systems that we want to make.
But if you have more and more people together,
which is the whole premise of vanguard,
(07:58):
um we can make change in a positive way.
We can um lean into courageous conversations and,
and,
and have have the change that,
that we envision.
Um There could be absolutely in normalizing,
dealing with issues,
right?
And I think you're right,
the more we normalize something,
the more we can shift organizational culture,
(08:21):
the more we can put it top of the agenda that we need to have these healthy,
engaged workspaces.
And what does that actually look like?
Right.
And psychological safety is right up there,
right.
So the more we talk and the more we normalize,
the more leaders are going to say,
oh yeah,
I've heard of that or oh yes,
(08:43):
this makes sense.
And here are all the different kinds of resources.
We're not just,
you know,
going in without any sort of idea of what to do.
There are lots of different kinds of resources that we can avail ourselves of to make this a reality and also normalizing that it is a journey,
you know,
that in order to reach something like,
(09:04):
like what exactly is psychological safety.
It's not just this pie in the sky idea.
It's lived out in the,
every day in pockets and within the whole organization.
But figuring out exactly how that works for each organization and each pocket within an organization to make it a reality.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Something that II I believe that needs to happen in every organization knowing that every organization has different cultures,
(09:33):
the tactics will be different but generally speaking,
opening up the doors of transparency in a company,
opening up the doors of feedback,
particularly upwards feedback and 360 feedback are game changers in order to enable and give people the permission to have those conversations,
the hard conversations in our everyday interactions because today where I sit,
(09:58):
you know,
in the world um that I'm in,
I don't see as much transparency and I don't see as much like feedback being given at,
at any level.
And I feel that that is what enables those whispered conversations.
That is what makes people think twice about saying any putting any dissenting voice at the table.
(10:24):
And when a message,
when a company says no,
we are prioritizing psychological safety and we are doing this through these measures of transparency and these measures of accountability or feedback,
it gives people permission and and it's not going to be easy but at least we open up those doors for people to have uh the conversations they need to have.
(10:48):
Absolutely love that transparency.
I think about light and darkness and you know,
when there's light there's no place to hide.
Right?
And so this whispered conversations,
those backroom deals,
you can't have them in the light,
you have them in the dark,
you have them when people are scared,
you have them when you know,
when people don't know what's going on.
(11:08):
But as soon as you tell adults what's going on and you shed light and you keep on asking for feedback and you keep on sharing,
sharing,
sharing,
then you know,
there is no room for the gossip,
there is no room for the,
the bullying that happens um in organizations,
the um siloing the,
you know,
all the,
(11:29):
the negative experiences that no company should want because it's antithetical to being in business and doing good work.
Absolutely.
Absolutely.
Yeah,
I,
and,
and,
and that's why I also see this at every level in the organization.
No level right up to the boardroom should be excluded.
So,
(11:50):
yeah,
it's um it's quite powerful but we need to have the courage to lean into uh these type of measures and that's where a movement uh may help.
So,
Jessica,
you have put together the summit,
which is amazing.
I I encourage all the listeners to go out and look at this website.
It's insanely wonderfully thought out with the speakers from across the globe in every time zone,
(12:17):
on all of these different relevant practical salient doable solutions and issues that need to be talked about in order to have this,
you know,
global movement so that everyday individuals will get the benefit of having these work environments that are filled with light and transparency.
(12:38):
So could you tell us a little bit about?
So the structure of the summit,
what somebody can expect if they come to the summit?
Yeah,
so first thing is the summit is running for close to 29 consecutive hours,
maybe 30.
I've lost track actually.
Um And uh yeah,
(12:58):
so it's running for a number of hours and we,
we structured it or we,
we um formatted it in this way because it goes back to the thinking,
this is a human topic and we are not going to favor,
you know,
do an event which favors one part of the world over another.
And so we really wanted to cross all the time zones.
(13:19):
So that's,
that's,
that's the first thing.
If somebody comes to the summit,
they can jump in at any time.
There's um it's an online summit.
We have usually two sessions,
sometimes up to three sessions being held in parallel and the sessions are being held by leading experts around the world on various topics that center around psychological safety,
(13:43):
which for example,
are on topics like how to have courageous conversations,
how to give effective feedback,
um diversity and inclusion topics,
how to have a sponsor,
a good sponsor at work.
We also have branding experts for people who want to learn how to rebrand themselves and you know,
(14:04):
online or in,
in,
in the workplace.
We have legal experts.
We have,
I'm,
I'm really proud of,
you know,
every person who is a part of this.
Um because we have hr professionals and we are,
it's just incredible the amount of knowledge and expertise that's coming to the table and all in the name of this cause for,
(14:30):
for prioritizing psychological safety,
but we not only have talks and in every talk,
there will be tangible actions that can be taken away.
And in fact,
even a resource guide given at the end of the summit.
So um from all the talks,
they'll get uh have this documented in one place.
But in addition to the talks,
people can also join a coaching session,
(14:53):
a one on one coaching with a certified coach.
Um if there's a particular challenge or struggle,
they are,
they have,
they have 45 minutes together with this coach.
We also have place to share their stories.
And um we were talking about this earlier about there's so many times when people feel alone in the workplace.
(15:15):
And um here is a place where,
you know,
you will not be alone um whether it's positive experience or negative experiences,
what we want to get from this,
this sense of sharing stories is the sense of community,
but also take some of the learnings that can potentially be applied in,
in uh our own situations.
(15:36):
And then we also have another room for what we call purposeful networking.
So,
purposeful networking is all about meeting people from around the world and having a conversation on what could a global movement look like?
What,
what does that mean for me,
what could be my role?
It's really in one sense,
(15:57):
a strategizing session and,
and a way for people to connect,
you know,
in a,
in a deeper way on a,
on,
on this particular topic.
So we really have tried to be as thoughtful and well rounded as possible so that everybody can feel like they are apart beginning to feel like they're a part of something bigger than themselves.
(16:20):
And that's really what vanguard is about this community that you are building is quite something to behold.
And I am so glad to be a part of it.
I,
what I see as part of my goal in my work is to,
to get the word out that conflict is normal and expected and we should deal with it.
And this is,
I see it as a part of the whole of what you're trying to achieve.
(16:44):
What you're trying to achieve is grander than my part.
But we all have a part as professionals in this space to make the whole.
And I love,
I mean,
really listeners you have got to look at at how it is structured because there are,
you know,
2 to 3 talks and each time that you could also sign up to,
for coaching,
to do the networking,
(17:04):
to do stories.
And it's this way for over 24 hours.
And so there's just so many different kinds of topics.
No,
two,
no topic is reduplicated and so from different experts around the world and you can look at their bios and look at their topic and what they're going to be doing.
It really is.
I'm so excited about it and I hope dear listener that you will be able to take time to,
(17:30):
to look into it,
to participate.
I think it is really worth your time and not just for you but for the people that you work with and then for your broader community of whatever industry that you're in because you know what it looks like to have healthy work environments.
Jessica,
as you said,
this is a human issue,
(17:51):
right?
We all need basic sorts of things as humans,
but how we practically put it in place might look different in different fields.
And so,
you know,
thinking about what you can do to be that light in your organization.
And if you are a thought leader,
if you are just an everyday worker,
(18:11):
whoever you may be,
you have a part to play in the health of your organization.
And I really,
really believe that's why I'm devoting this whole conflict Managed podcast to this.
I really believe that this summit an excellent opportunity for the new,
where are we going?
Where do we want to be globally?
(18:32):
And we get to make those decisions or they're made for us?
And I think largely unintentionally,
but when you're unintentional,
what you get is dysfunction because everything is tending towards chaos.
If you want order,
if you want health,
that is purposeful,
intentional and for the longevity of work.
(18:53):
So what kind of intentional,
what are we intentionally doing to treat everyone with dignity and respect and encourage and encouraging them to flourish?
Yeah.
Yeah.
II I fully buy into that,
that intentional,
deliberate,
deliberate focus and attention is needed for our workplace cultures.
And in this case where psychological safety is foundational for the success of our teams and our,
(19:19):
for us as individuals,
for our teams and our organizations.
I feel part of the message that we're trying to get out there to organizations is you need to look at psychological safety first.
If we don't have the safety,
how can anything else thrive?
Right?
All the,
all the various initiatives that we may be running within can only go so far if we don't have the foundation of psychological safety first.
(19:45):
And I think that's part of as well what we're,
what we're trying to,
we're trying to say here in addition to building that community so that we can have a united voice and,
and amplify,
you know,
the topic,
the impact that much more in the world,
100% agree.
So,
will you explain a little bit more about what psychological safety is and why it is absolutely foundational.
(20:13):
Yeah.
So to me,
psychological safety is when we feel free to express our thoughts and our ideas without a fear of negative um consequence.
And that doesn't mean that you can speak up and say anything you want and then,
you know,
break every,
(20:34):
you know,
every rule or,
or code in the code of ethics.
This is about professional thoughts.
We are hired for a reason for the skills and talents that we have.
And if we are stifling our professional thoughts and we are actually not living into the role that we have been,
you know,
hired for um as a foundation.
(20:54):
So psychological safety is,
is giving that space,
which is sounds so easy,
but it actually doesn't happen so often in our organizations,
whether it's because of ourselves and maybe ourselves doubting when to speak up when how to say it in what company et cetera.
(21:15):
And you do need to be wise,
of course as to when to say what,
but maybe we're,
we're stifling ourselves too much.
But sometimes it's because we don't have confidence in the system.
And when I say that it's,
it's things like when an issue arise like bullying or harassment and somebody does speak up and they end up becoming marginalized or become the victim all over again because the system,
(21:43):
I'm gonna say it in,
in those cortical system turns back and says,
no,
you're the problem then.
No wonder people fear and fear those consequences.
And so some people feel that it's easier to conform,
you know,
at work than just to,
to speak up because of these stories that happen.
(22:04):
So,
yeah,
it's foundational um to the success of our companies,
Amy Edmond says so and uh Google Aristotle project.
So there's more than enough research that tells us this.
But I think the challenge right now is really understanding,
we need to live into those,
those heavy conversations,
(22:24):
those hard conversations that we as humans will naturally get into because we all come from our different perspectives and backgrounds.
So sometimes when um we're talking about making an environment or,
or culture,
culture in an organization,
sometimes that talk,
it's relegated to soft skills,
right?
And so soft skills sound like fluffy or unnecessary or icing on the top of the cake only to get to once we've done the quote unquote business of work.
(22:53):
And that's really topsy turvy because in order to get to the quote unquote business of work,
we need to have a healthy,
stable workplace culture.
And so I'd like to think about if you don't have psychological safety at work,
what do you have?
Right?
What are the repercussions of people not feeling safe,
not feeling they can speak up not being able to admit mistakes,
(23:16):
not being able to say,
oh,
I don't think that's gonna work because of this issue over here and not being able to collaborate,
if not.
Right.
So when you start to think about the dollars that the money lost from people not speaking up,
the money lost from disengagement,
the money lost from people leaving because they don't feel valued and cared for.
(23:38):
You know,
if we just want to do it in a strict economic sense,
let alone,
of course,
the the real pain and suffering that people feel from being minimized and marginalized and,
and all of that.
Yeah,
I actually have a dollar figure on this that I just read,
read recently.
So something like 20 is it 23% are engaged at work,
(24:02):
which means 77% or not,
six and 10 people are quite quitting,
which means they are not giving,
you know,
all that they need to,
their attentions are elsewhere.
The dollar figure is that I read was $8.8 trillion of impact as a result from a global perspective.
(24:25):
Um and that,
that came from a gallop state of the workplace uh report.
So there are real reasons why we need to focus on,
on this topic and astounds me that the noise level or the awareness on this is,
is,
is,
(24:46):
is not where it,
where it could or should be.
So,
but we will change that to get and,
you know,
I think a lot of it,
this is not,
it,
there's a variety of reasons,
of course for this,
but it makes people feel uncomfortable when we start talking about human relations,
right?
Because we all have these pasts and we have these experiences and as professionals,
(25:09):
it is something outside of our control,
how somebody else responds or whatever it might be,
you know.
And um that's OK.
I think a part of it is recognizing our limitations,
recognizing what is difficult for us,
right?
A difficult conversation is simply difficult if it is difficult for you may not be difficult for somebody else.
But how do we sit with those hard feelings because we do lots or all professionals,
(25:35):
we do lots of hard stuff.
It's not,
can you do hard stuff?
We do lots of hard stuff,
but this kind of hard is something that hasn't really been looked at,
at the world in the world of work,
developing psychological safety with the workplaces for every single member of the organization.
How do we make that a reality?
(25:55):
That's a different kind of work that when we neglect that it's to our peril.
Yeah,
to me,
it fundamentally comes down to giving each other grace when we make mistakes.
And it's nice to say that in maybe flowery words.
Um but that really is in its essence,
(26:17):
if we know there's a human being sitting across the table from me and they're coming with their best and they're bringing their best and maybe we don't see eye to eye,
but that's because we are,
we have different backgrounds,
whatever they may be and maybe they may misspeak,
I may misspeak.
But there is something about that grace,
(26:38):
that forgiveness,
that space that,
you know,
we're,
we're trying,
we're here for a common mission.
Not about our egos at the table,
which is often times uh today what,
what,
what's happening.
So there's a little bit about,
yeah,
just knowing when it's prioritized and we know that we know that uh psychological safety is prioritized,
(27:01):
then we can have that confidence that yeah,
we're seeing eye to eye.
We're here as human beings.
Absolutely.
And as you were talking,
I was just really thinking about community,
right?
What does it mean to be a colleague there?
Of course,
we have ego and ego is good and appropriate in its place,
right?
And we,
and we need to be considerate,
but it's like it's like we tell ourselves this false binary is one or the other.
(27:25):
It's workplace as a family or it's all about me and it's neither right?
We can have this wonderful relationships,
meaningful relationships with colleagues that are professional,
that are collegial,
which is this really robust collaborative team environment without it crossing that line of inappropriate family language where we respect the individual.
(27:49):
So that's the ego,
but also the team because we are definitely better together than separate,
which is good for the individual,
which is good for the team.
It's a symbiotic,
healthy relationship.
But we,
we many times,
I think right now where we are is this swing to this individualism and the individualism,
strict individualism without regard for community hurts the individual and,
(28:15):
you know,
demolishes community.
Yeah,
from an organization perspective,
what,
what binds everybody together is the mission of that organization.
So that's why we're there.
Most of us when we move into a company,
it's because in theory,
we believe what that company stands for.
And so if we keep our eyes on that mission while honoring the strengths and the unique talents that each person is bringing in order to um drive that mission forward.
(28:46):
Yeah,
like just beautiful things can happen.
But like you said,
today,
more of us are,
are thinking from the individual.
Um and we're allowing that to happen in our workplaces,
we're promoting people,
you know,
um even in some cases,
um who have that individualistic um behavior and that sense of community,
(29:08):
we need to bring back into our workforce,
go back to the mission of our,
of our companies and,
and even ourselves,
which hopefully is linked um together.
I absolutely agree.
And I think,
you know,
a visioning community in the year 2024 and into the future might look different than it was at different times.
And so I think sometimes people think,
(29:29):
well,
that's just too hard.
And I said,
no,
it's not too hard,
it is difficult,
fine,
but it's not undoable,
it's completely reasonable.
And again,
what is the alternative,
a bunch of,
you know,
disassociated individuals bumping into each other trying to achieve something,
right,
the mission of the organization.
But if we're actually going to,
(29:49):
you know,
develop and create new things that we need for sustainability,
for just our,
the human community,
right,
then we need to be able to be able to work together to create the future and create it collaboratively,
which benefits everybody.
But that means that we have to tell ourselves a new story and figure out what is the appropriate way to move forward with appropriate work life balance and,
(30:17):
and professionalism.
I'm very interested in.
What does it really mean to bring your whole professional self to work?
What does it really mean to be a good colleague?
What is and how do we draw boundaries within that?
But they are all conversations to be had as long as we're having those conversations,
we just seem to not be having them.
(30:38):
Yeah.
Yeah,
I have to say in my day job as an agile coach,
what I appreciate the most is it is about trying to get all the voices at the table.
It'll hurt.
And um you know,
right from the beginning of a kickoff meeting when we design a team,
team canvas,
a team canvas can include the team purpose,
(30:59):
our values as a company,
as a team.
Um our ways of working.
How are we showing up?
When are we showing up?
How are we making decisions?
How are we giving feedback?
This is not about one person making,
you know,
giving the answers to all those,
all those questions,
this is about the team providing input.
And so from an agile perspective,
(31:20):
when you keep that up,
you know,
and,
and I'm a big believer in rituals at the team level,
then this is how people really feel excited and gravitated to whatever the team is trying to produce together.
Yeah,
that's,
it's,
it's,
it's an exciting place to be when you feel that you are shaping a product or,
(31:45):
or whatever,
or a service together with colleagues around you and you know,
that they have your,
their back,
uh they have your back as you have theirs.
And I absolutely agree.
It's,
you know,
coming together,
developing the compass and reminding each other.
But,
and when you do that,
you have a way of coming out of your shell,
(32:05):
you have your way,
a way of really seeing the strengths of your colleagues and how you get to particularly contribute to what's going on.
And it has this sort of synergy.
I can imagine somebody listening and thinking Mary Jessica,
you have no idea where I work,
this is never going to happen.
And the interesting thing about change is that it's always here,
(32:28):
it's always happening.
People come in,
people go about organizations rise,
they fall change is the name of the game.
And the question is,
well,
what kind of change do you want?
First of all?
So we have to have a vision and that's one thing I love about this,
this summit that you have put together.
It's giving people a vision.
What does it actually look like in the concrete particular?
(32:51):
What is it?
I actually want instead of,
I want it to be better?
OK.
good.
What does that practically mean?
And when you look at the list of topics and speakers for this 29 hour plus event,
there are so many sessions and ways to get this kind of creative insight so that I can think about implementation where I am encouragement to think about people,
(33:20):
I can reach out to and resources so that when you go back to your organization,
you aren't alone.
I encourage you to bring,
bring a friend from your organization,
a colleague so that you won't be alone either.
And then the two of you or the three of you or the 10 of you can talk about,
what do we want having those conversations thinking about the different aspects and,
(33:44):
and um doing something new.
Yeah.
And I just wanna add,
this change is completely possible completely within our hands as a humanity to um bring to life.
If I just think about um you know,
a number of years ago,
decades ago when let's say sexual harassment was normal in the workplace and people just accepted that for what it is.
(34:14):
It's just the way,
you know,
it needs to be.
If we talk about that today,
most of us will be horrified.
It's a clear violation of how we work.
We have it in our code of ethics and there are actions or measures that are taken against anybody who violates those.
It will be the same.
I'm proclaiming this,
(34:34):
it will be the same in the future.
When it comes to psychologically unsafe workplaces,
we will be horrified when people are unable to bring their full thoughts to the office place.
We will be horrified when people are bullied in the workplace or gas lit or manipulated in any way.
(34:57):
We have to switch our thinking today which has felt like male currently feels like the norm.
We're no longer if for some of us,
we're no longer horrified when we hear somebody has been uh laid off because they've spoken up because they were a whistleblower.
I am saying,
I believe that in the future there will be no room for this.
(35:19):
So,
but it will take many of us uh to come together and,
and,
and,
and keep eating the drum on on psychologically safe workplaces.
I love your vision and what an excellent real world example.
I mean,
you're right.
You know,
it is absolutely horrifying to think about what was just standard practice and not thought about because of course boys will be boys or people will be people and 100% not acceptable.
(35:50):
Now,
does it still go on?
It goes on and it is allowed to go on when there is a non trans not transparency when people are hidden away.
But the more light we shine,
the more we say that's unacceptable and we have said universally is unacceptable,
but it it only transpires in the,
in the,
in the crevices,
(36:10):
right?
And I love this vision of what will be,
what will we be horrified about in the future,
right?
The way,
the way people are treated.
And as you know,
people say by and large,
they leave people in that organization.
It's the way they were treated that they couldn't take it anymore.
(36:30):
And we also know that people remember how they were treated,
how did I feel around you?
How did you make me feel?
And we think about where we work is temporary,
that we are workers is temporary.
All of this is temporary,
right?
But when we think about what really matters in our life and who has mattered to us,
(36:52):
it is the impact how they cared for us,
how they saw us,
who do we want to be and who do we want people to say that we were,
how we made them feel.
How can we be champions for our colleagues and other people?
Why would we not want that to be our legacy?
(37:13):
Which also happens to be excellent business sense.
Yes,
absolutely.
All of a sudden when you were,
you were saying that I was thinking through leaders who I,
you know,
from 20 years ago,
um who encouraged me,
who championed for me,
who spoke well of me,
(37:33):
even when I wasn't in the room,
I,
I know it because it came back to me later.
I,
um you're absolutely right.
The impact that not just leaders,
people,
our colleagues can have,
you know,
years decades later on,
you uh can be tremendous um in the best way possible.
Absolutely.
(37:54):
So Jessica,
is there anything else that people should know about the speak up summit?
What would you,
what would you like people to know about the summit?
I would like them to know that this is not just an online summit where we're going to listen to talks and,
and then go back to our normal lives.
I want people to know that we are creating something together.
(38:16):
Something that is,
I think it's,
it's even bigger than I can even imagine right now.
I think that if anybody who is a part of this is going to feel like we're going to be part of something that is going to shift the world,
um maybe it's not going to shift the world the day afterwards,
(38:39):
but together we will.
And I just want people to know if there is a change maker in you.
If you have the dream,
you know,
similar to,
you know,
what you and I share Mary come,
just come to this summit.
We want everyone who is gravitated to this cause to come.
(39:03):
Because again,
that sense of community is what we're,
we're building and we need to link arms with as many people as possible across the world.
I love that.
That leads me to my next question.
One of my last questions is now,
let's suppose somebody is listening to this podcast on June 15th,
2024.
(39:24):
And so,
oh,
they missed it.
How can they still benefit from what has happened at the summit?
So,
vanguard voices is hosting this.
So first things first is get onto our,
our,
our mailing list onto our newsletter because we will certainly be sending updates on a regular basis.
After that,
we have recordings from the summit and we will find ways to,
(39:46):
to,
to share this in a broader,
broader sense,
especially for those who have interest and who hear about this afterwards.
And as well,
again,
the outcome of the summit is building this founding community.
So we will invite anybody who is interested who wants to take an active role to join us in this online community.
(40:09):
And we will have regular catch ups and meetups essentially to strategize on the next steps.
Who do you see as populating this community?
Are you primarily talking to hr individuals c suite individuals,
line managers who,
who do you see as being the change makers in this space?
All of the above.
So it's,
(40:30):
it's certainly leaders at the highest levels have a lot of influence.
That's clear.
So,
you know,
hr professionals as well,
DN I professional CS R,
those in CS R rules as well,
I believe that this is a top down,
bottom up side to side effort.
And so we are looking for leaders who want to help with their influence,
(40:55):
to lead the way we are looking for employees at any level to help lead the way we as a community will support,
support you.
Part of the vision of this community is not only to support at an individual level but from an organizational level.
And so because we have such amazing expertise through the speakers,
(41:18):
through the connections,
the coaches that we have,
we can build the teams to help those organizations who lift their hands and say help and we will rally together and,
and say,
look at the great work of these companies.
So anybody who is willing to lift up their hands and say,
particularly the leaders who say,
(41:38):
you know,
we want to be an example.
We want to be a flagship company.
We we welcome with open arms.
That's excellent.
I absolutely agree that this initiative takes everybody,
but we certainly need the leaders who are in place to say us,
us first.
We want to lead the way.
The wonderful thing about leadership is that it doesn't have to have a title.
(41:59):
And so if you're thinking,
well,
you know,
I just work at this organization,
I don't have a particular title,
guess what?
You can be the leader.
And we all lead by example,
we,
we put out there what we think is appropriate workplace behavior,
what we think is acceptable and unacceptable.
And so you can be the leader no matter where you are in your organization.
(42:22):
And if that is something that resonates with you,
I really believe that vanguard voices is an excellent resource for you.
And I certainly hope that you take time to come to the summit.
So Jessica,
people want to sign up for the summit.
How do they do it?
They come to www dot the speak up summit.com.
(42:42):
And I do want to say that we want to make this as accessible as possible to anyone across the world.
If you are in a challenging situation,
maybe you're unemployed,
whatever the situation may be,
reach out to us.
Um we will certainly offer discounted tickets.
We also offer an option for pay what you want.
(43:03):
Just don't we want the barrier of entry to be as low as possible.
So,
yeah,
we,
we welcome anybody who believes in this with,
with open arms.
It's wonderful.
Well,
the link will be in the show notes for that you,
you'd be able to click on.
And um Jessica,
I am so thankful for the incredible work that you have put in and the team that you have assembled for this very important mission of really respecting individuals in a place where they spend most of their lives at work,
(43:35):
how we have healthy work environments,
I think really matters about how we treat people.
And I'm so appreciative of the work that you've put into this.
Thank you.
I appreciate you too,
Mary.
Well,
Jessica,
I will see you at the summit and I'm gonna start getting my sleep now because I had to go to as many of these of as many as I can.
(43:57):
So,
all right,
well,
take care and best of luck and I wish you all the sleep and rest afterwards,
but there's a lot of work to be done.
So get out there and register for this wonderful international completely virtual online summit.
Jessica.
Thank you so much for being on Conflict Managed.
Every chance I get to speak with you is a pure joy for me.
(44:21):
The work that you are doing to transform our work environments is really nothing short of inspirational.
I appreciate it so much what you are working towards and the vision that you have and the and the community you have already gathered for this international human effort to have psychologically safe work environments and dear listener,
(44:43):
I sure hope that you join us for the Speak up summit.
I encourage you to go to the website and peruse all the wonderful topics available.
I encourage you to go out and look at the Speak up summit.
Lineup,
register to get coaching if that's what you're interested in and look at all the wonderful possibilities.
If you would like to hear more about Jessica and her background,
(45:03):
you can go back in time and listen to episode 74 which is called Psychological Safety at work,
which features Jessica Bench in a traditional style episode of Conflict Managed.
Conflict Managed is produced by third party workplace Conflict Restoration Services and hosted by me,
Merry Brown.
You can find us online at 3PConflictRestoration.com.
(45:26):
Our music is courtesy of Dove Pilot and remember,
conflict is normal and to be expected.
Let's deal with it.
And I look forward to seeing you at the summit until next time.
Take care.
All right,
this is all right.
I got it.
I do wraps now,
get a sound side uptight jack asking questions.
(00:25):
Welcome to Conflict Managed.
I'm your host,
Merry Brown.
This week on Conflict Managed,
we are departing from our regular format to discuss vanguard voices,
upcoming international fully virtual speak up summit taking place June 13th to the 14th,
2024 across all time zones to discuss vanguard voices,
speak up summit.
We are rejoined by a friend of the show,
(00:46):
Jessica Bench,
a passionate advocate for psychological safety at work and founder of Vanguard Voices.
Jessica is a Canadian Indian living in Switzerland and working as an agile coach in a pharmaceutical company.
She has managed many high profile organizational change projects and led employee engagement initiatives over the course of 20 plus years.
(01:07):
Jessica is now building a worldwide not for profit movement,
vanguard voices on the topic of psychological safety.
She deeply believes that we do not change the world simply by keeping quiet and perpetuating the status quo.
We make positive change by confronting our fears and speaking out our truth individually and collectively.
Good morning Jessica and welcome to Conflict Managed.
(01:29):
Thanks for having me,
Mary.
I'm so glad to have you back and over the moon to talk about what we're going to talk about today,
which is Vanguard Summits,
speak up international Conference coming up this June 13th through the 14th,
2024.
And I am so excited about this um international endeavor that you have put together with the help of many,
(01:52):
many partners to talk about psychological safety,
but more than that to actually bring it about so that people can have environments in which they feel heard,
ability to speak up without fear of retribution and looking over the amazing speakers and what you have lined up is just really awe inspiring.
(02:15):
I'm so looking forward to the summit.
But before we get into it,
I would like to know the origin story.
How did this summit come about?
So I founded a not for profit association called Beard Voices.
This was founded in December 2022 and I founded this because I've been in the corporate workspace for a number of years now.
(02:38):
And I've always felt like we can do more in our organizations in terms of showing up more as our quote unquote authentic selves.
And I,
I felt that we weren't doing enough in,
in our workplaces.
There's a lot of trainings,
there's a lot of awareness,
there's a lot of talk sessions,
(02:59):
but where was the actual impact?
Where was the actual shifts and moves being made?
I,
I just wasn't seeing it there.
And so in creating vanguard voices,
the vision is to create a global movement in this case,
to bring the topic of psychological safety to the top of workplace agendas.
And over the last year and a half,
(03:21):
we've been doing a number of speaking engagements doing just creating more awareness on the topic.
But the vision has always been to link arms with as many partners as possible because we know there's amazing work being done around the world.
But we're all making impact in our sort of different corners.
(03:41):
But how much more powerful if we were to link arms together.
And so the speak up summit is our first opportunity,
the first phase of this global movement to have a number of partners together on one platform.
I absolutely love that vision because it is the case,
there's a lot of people doing good work out there.
And unfortunately,
(04:03):
what makes the press is the bad news,
the red flags very rarely do we see the green flags out there and the progress that our people are making.
But the wonderful thing about hearing about progress is that it helps spark in the individual.
Well,
what can I do?
How can I take that idea and run with it?
Or of course,
a lot of times as you know,
(04:24):
in,
in organizations,
people feel a lot of despair such as things are never gonna change,
nothing can get better.
This is just the way of work.
But the more we hear from other voices around the world and different cultures and different kinds of sectors,
we can say,
no,
we don't have to settle for that.
We can actually have healthy work environments.
(04:45):
And the more we can learn from other people,
you know,
why do we have to re invent the wheel every single time in every organization?
Yeah,
absolutely.
About six years ago,
I actually did a cross grassroots effort in,
in my day job in my normal organization.
And one of the common themes that I saw and heard is,
(05:08):
oh,
I'm not alone.
So we collected workplace stories from around the world and we saw one story after another,
from one end of the world to the other being very,
very similar.
And so it's,
it was,
it's a human topic.
And II,
I heard that statement,
(05:28):
I don't feel alone.
I'm not the only one and a lot of times when people are going through those challenging situations at work,
they do feel isolated,
they don't know who to speak to.
There is sometimes this culture of silence in organizations.
And so,
you know,
is it safe even to break that silence by sharing your story.
Here's a platform where a number of people can share your,
(05:52):
share our stories and just amplify that awareness and the need for psychological safety in,
in all our workplaces,
no matter where we are solidarity is so important because you're right with this conflict and,
and issue at work have this effect of isolating us.
And when we feel isolated,
(06:12):
it is a disempowering position and we are confused and we don't know what to do.
And so to have a place to learn from others to,
to hear that we aren't alone to,
to,
to,
and then to see how they moved forward and it doesn't mean that we have to do exactly what other people did,
but that there are many different kinds of paths.
(06:34):
And so to start to think,
ok,
well,
what is my path?
This is my situation.
Other people have had these kinds of issues.
So what's next?
And I think it's a way to turn our head from looking down towards the future and what am I going to do next?
And,
and how can I partner with others to help me make that next step?
(06:54):
Yeah,
absolutely.
You remind me of the situation I had years ago where I felt,
um,
disempowered where I,
my head was,
um,
looking down and I actually reached out to a coach for help thinking the coach would give me,
I didn't really understand the concept of coaching at that time,
but I thought she was going to give me some magical answer to help me out of the situation.
(07:16):
And we were,
we were,
you know,
had a number of sessions together and then finally,
um at some point,
she said to me,
I can't help you.
And because the situation was something around the system,
this uh the workplace system.
And um,
I felt quite alone,
even abandoned at,
(07:37):
in that moment.
And what I came to realize was,
yeah,
like now being on the other side,
because I'm also a life coach.
Now I realized,
yeah,
there is only so much another person can do,
you know,
especially in the context of workplace systems that we want to make.
But if you have more and more people together,
which is the whole premise of vanguard,
(07:58):
um we can make change in a positive way.
We can um lean into courageous conversations and,
and,
and have have the change that,
that we envision.
Um There could be absolutely in normalizing,
dealing with issues,
right?
And I think you're right,
the more we normalize something,
the more we can shift organizational culture,
(08:21):
the more we can put it top of the agenda that we need to have these healthy,
engaged workspaces.
And what does that actually look like?
Right.
And psychological safety is right up there,
right.
So the more we talk and the more we normalize,
the more leaders are going to say,
oh yeah,
I've heard of that or oh yes,
(08:43):
this makes sense.
And here are all the different kinds of resources.
We're not just,
you know,
going in without any sort of idea of what to do.
There are lots of different kinds of resources that we can avail ourselves of to make this a reality and also normalizing that it is a journey,
you know,
that in order to reach something like,
(09:04):
like what exactly is psychological safety.
It's not just this pie in the sky idea.
It's lived out in the,
every day in pockets and within the whole organization.
But figuring out exactly how that works for each organization and each pocket within an organization to make it a reality.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Something that II I believe that needs to happen in every organization knowing that every organization has different cultures,
(09:33):
the tactics will be different but generally speaking,
opening up the doors of transparency in a company,
opening up the doors of feedback,
particularly upwards feedback and 360 feedback are game changers in order to enable and give people the permission to have those conversations,
the hard conversations in our everyday interactions because today where I sit,
(09:58):
you know,
in the world um that I'm in,
I don't see as much transparency and I don't see as much like feedback being given at,
at any level.
And I feel that that is what enables those whispered conversations.
That is what makes people think twice about saying any putting any dissenting voice at the table.
(10:24):
And when a message,
when a company says no,
we are prioritizing psychological safety and we are doing this through these measures of transparency and these measures of accountability or feedback,
it gives people permission and and it's not going to be easy but at least we open up those doors for people to have uh the conversations they need to have.
(10:48):
Absolutely love that transparency.
I think about light and darkness and you know,
when there's light there's no place to hide.
Right?
And so this whispered conversations,
those backroom deals,
you can't have them in the light,
you have them in the dark,
you have them when people are scared,
you have them when you know,
when people don't know what's going on.
(11:08):
But as soon as you tell adults what's going on and you shed light and you keep on asking for feedback and you keep on sharing,
sharing,
sharing,
then you know,
there is no room for the gossip,
there is no room for the,
the bullying that happens um in organizations,
the um siloing the,
you know,
all the,
(11:29):
the negative experiences that no company should want because it's antithetical to being in business and doing good work.
Absolutely.
Absolutely.
Yeah,
I,
and,
and,
and that's why I also see this at every level in the organization.
No level right up to the boardroom should be excluded.
So,
(11:50):
yeah,
it's um it's quite powerful but we need to have the courage to lean into uh these type of measures and that's where a movement uh may help.
So,
Jessica,
you have put together the summit,
which is amazing.
I I encourage all the listeners to go out and look at this website.
It's insanely wonderfully thought out with the speakers from across the globe in every time zone,
(12:17):
on all of these different relevant practical salient doable solutions and issues that need to be talked about in order to have this,
you know,
global movement so that everyday individuals will get the benefit of having these work environments that are filled with light and transparency.
(12:38):
So could you tell us a little bit about?
So the structure of the summit,
what somebody can expect if they come to the summit?
Yeah,
so first thing is the summit is running for close to 29 consecutive hours,
maybe 30.
I've lost track actually.
Um And uh yeah,
(12:58):
so it's running for a number of hours and we,
we structured it or we,
we um formatted it in this way because it goes back to the thinking,
this is a human topic and we are not going to favor,
you know,
do an event which favors one part of the world over another.
And so we really wanted to cross all the time zones.
(13:19):
So that's,
that's,
that's the first thing.
If somebody comes to the summit,
they can jump in at any time.
There's um it's an online summit.
We have usually two sessions,
sometimes up to three sessions being held in parallel and the sessions are being held by leading experts around the world on various topics that center around psychological safety,
(13:43):
which for example,
are on topics like how to have courageous conversations,
how to give effective feedback,
um diversity and inclusion topics,
how to have a sponsor,
a good sponsor at work.
We also have branding experts for people who want to learn how to rebrand themselves and you know,
(14:04):
online or in,
in,
in the workplace.
We have legal experts.
We have,
I'm,
I'm really proud of,
you know,
every person who is a part of this.
Um because we have hr professionals and we are,
it's just incredible the amount of knowledge and expertise that's coming to the table and all in the name of this cause for,
(14:30):
for prioritizing psychological safety,
but we not only have talks and in every talk,
there will be tangible actions that can be taken away.
And in fact,
even a resource guide given at the end of the summit.
So um from all the talks,
they'll get uh have this documented in one place.
But in addition to the talks,
people can also join a coaching session,
(14:53):
a one on one coaching with a certified coach.
Um if there's a particular challenge or struggle,
they are,
they have,
they have 45 minutes together with this coach.
We also have place to share their stories.
And um we were talking about this earlier about there's so many times when people feel alone in the workplace.
(15:15):
And um here is a place where,
you know,
you will not be alone um whether it's positive experience or negative experiences,
what we want to get from this,
this sense of sharing stories is the sense of community,
but also take some of the learnings that can potentially be applied in,
in uh our own situations.
(15:36):
And then we also have another room for what we call purposeful networking.
So,
purposeful networking is all about meeting people from around the world and having a conversation on what could a global movement look like?
What,
what does that mean for me,
what could be my role?
It's really in one sense,
(15:57):
a strategizing session and,
and a way for people to connect,
you know,
in a,
in a deeper way on a,
on,
on this particular topic.
So we really have tried to be as thoughtful and well rounded as possible so that everybody can feel like they are apart beginning to feel like they're a part of something bigger than themselves.
(16:20):
And that's really what vanguard is about this community that you are building is quite something to behold.
And I am so glad to be a part of it.
I,
what I see as part of my goal in my work is to,
to get the word out that conflict is normal and expected and we should deal with it.
And this is,
I see it as a part of the whole of what you're trying to achieve.
(16:44):
What you're trying to achieve is grander than my part.
But we all have a part as professionals in this space to make the whole.
And I love,
I mean,
really listeners you have got to look at at how it is structured because there are,
you know,
2 to 3 talks and each time that you could also sign up to,
for coaching,
to do the networking,
(17:04):
to do stories.
And it's this way for over 24 hours.
And so there's just so many different kinds of topics.
No,
two,
no topic is reduplicated and so from different experts around the world and you can look at their bios and look at their topic and what they're going to be doing.
It really is.
I'm so excited about it and I hope dear listener that you will be able to take time to,
(17:30):
to look into it,
to participate.
I think it is really worth your time and not just for you but for the people that you work with and then for your broader community of whatever industry that you're in because you know what it looks like to have healthy work environments.
Jessica,
as you said,
this is a human issue,
(17:51):
right?
We all need basic sorts of things as humans,
but how we practically put it in place might look different in different fields.
And so,
you know,
thinking about what you can do to be that light in your organization.
And if you are a thought leader,
if you are just an everyday worker,
(18:11):
whoever you may be,
you have a part to play in the health of your organization.
And I really,
really believe that's why I'm devoting this whole conflict Managed podcast to this.
I really believe that this summit an excellent opportunity for the new,
where are we going?
Where do we want to be globally?
(18:32):
And we get to make those decisions or they're made for us?
And I think largely unintentionally,
but when you're unintentional,
what you get is dysfunction because everything is tending towards chaos.
If you want order,
if you want health,
that is purposeful,
intentional and for the longevity of work.
(18:53):
So what kind of intentional,
what are we intentionally doing to treat everyone with dignity and respect and encourage and encouraging them to flourish?
Yeah.
Yeah.
II I fully buy into that,
that intentional,
deliberate,
deliberate focus and attention is needed for our workplace cultures.
And in this case where psychological safety is foundational for the success of our teams and our,
(19:19):
for us as individuals,
for our teams and our organizations.
I feel part of the message that we're trying to get out there to organizations is you need to look at psychological safety first.
If we don't have the safety,
how can anything else thrive?
Right?
All the,
all the various initiatives that we may be running within can only go so far if we don't have the foundation of psychological safety first.
(19:45):
And I think that's part of as well what we're,
what we're trying to,
we're trying to say here in addition to building that community so that we can have a united voice and,
and amplify,
you know,
the topic,
the impact that much more in the world,
100% agree.
So,
will you explain a little bit more about what psychological safety is and why it is absolutely foundational.
(20:13):
Yeah.
So to me,
psychological safety is when we feel free to express our thoughts and our ideas without a fear of negative um consequence.
And that doesn't mean that you can speak up and say anything you want and then,
you know,
break every,
(20:34):
you know,
every rule or,
or code in the code of ethics.
This is about professional thoughts.
We are hired for a reason for the skills and talents that we have.
And if we are stifling our professional thoughts and we are actually not living into the role that we have been,
you know,
hired for um as a foundation.
(20:54):
So psychological safety is,
is giving that space,
which is sounds so easy,
but it actually doesn't happen so often in our organizations,
whether it's because of ourselves and maybe ourselves doubting when to speak up when how to say it in what company et cetera.
(21:15):
And you do need to be wise,
of course as to when to say what,
but maybe we're,
we're stifling ourselves too much.
But sometimes it's because we don't have confidence in the system.
And when I say that it's,
it's things like when an issue arise like bullying or harassment and somebody does speak up and they end up becoming marginalized or become the victim all over again because the system,
(21:43):
I'm gonna say it in,
in those cortical system turns back and says,
no,
you're the problem then.
No wonder people fear and fear those consequences.
And so some people feel that it's easier to conform,
you know,
at work than just to,
to speak up because of these stories that happen.
(22:04):
So,
yeah,
it's foundational um to the success of our companies,
Amy Edmond says so and uh Google Aristotle project.
So there's more than enough research that tells us this.
But I think the challenge right now is really understanding,
we need to live into those,
those heavy conversations,
(22:24):
those hard conversations that we as humans will naturally get into because we all come from our different perspectives and backgrounds.
So sometimes when um we're talking about making an environment or,
or culture,
culture in an organization,
sometimes that talk,
it's relegated to soft skills,
right?
And so soft skills sound like fluffy or unnecessary or icing on the top of the cake only to get to once we've done the quote unquote business of work.
(22:53):
And that's really topsy turvy because in order to get to the quote unquote business of work,
we need to have a healthy,
stable workplace culture.
And so I'd like to think about if you don't have psychological safety at work,
what do you have?
Right?
What are the repercussions of people not feeling safe,
not feeling they can speak up not being able to admit mistakes,
(23:16):
not being able to say,
oh,
I don't think that's gonna work because of this issue over here and not being able to collaborate,
if not.
Right.
So when you start to think about the dollars that the money lost from people not speaking up,
the money lost from disengagement,
the money lost from people leaving because they don't feel valued and cared for.
(23:38):
You know,
if we just want to do it in a strict economic sense,
let alone,
of course,
the the real pain and suffering that people feel from being minimized and marginalized and,
and all of that.
Yeah,
I actually have a dollar figure on this that I just read,
read recently.
So something like 20 is it 23% are engaged at work,
(24:02):
which means 77% or not,
six and 10 people are quite quitting,
which means they are not giving,
you know,
all that they need to,
their attentions are elsewhere.
The dollar figure is that I read was $8.8 trillion of impact as a result from a global perspective.
(24:25):
Um and that,
that came from a gallop state of the workplace uh report.
So there are real reasons why we need to focus on,
on this topic and astounds me that the noise level or the awareness on this is,
is,
is,
(24:46):
is not where it,
where it could or should be.
So,
but we will change that to get and,
you know,
I think a lot of it,
this is not,
it,
there's a variety of reasons,
of course for this,
but it makes people feel uncomfortable when we start talking about human relations,
right?
Because we all have these pasts and we have these experiences and as professionals,
(25:09):
it is something outside of our control,
how somebody else responds or whatever it might be,
you know.
And um that's OK.
I think a part of it is recognizing our limitations,
recognizing what is difficult for us,
right?
A difficult conversation is simply difficult if it is difficult for you may not be difficult for somebody else.
But how do we sit with those hard feelings because we do lots or all professionals,
(25:35):
we do lots of hard stuff.
It's not,
can you do hard stuff?
We do lots of hard stuff,
but this kind of hard is something that hasn't really been looked at,
at the world in the world of work,
developing psychological safety with the workplaces for every single member of the organization.
How do we make that a reality?
(25:55):
That's a different kind of work that when we neglect that it's to our peril.
Yeah,
to me,
it fundamentally comes down to giving each other grace when we make mistakes.
And it's nice to say that in maybe flowery words.
Um but that really is in its essence,
(26:17):
if we know there's a human being sitting across the table from me and they're coming with their best and they're bringing their best and maybe we don't see eye to eye,
but that's because we are,
we have different backgrounds,
whatever they may be and maybe they may misspeak,
I may misspeak.
But there is something about that grace,
(26:38):
that forgiveness,
that space that,
you know,
we're,
we're trying,
we're here for a common mission.
Not about our egos at the table,
which is often times uh today what,
what,
what's happening.
So there's a little bit about,
yeah,
just knowing when it's prioritized and we know that we know that uh psychological safety is prioritized,
(27:01):
then we can have that confidence that yeah,
we're seeing eye to eye.
We're here as human beings.
Absolutely.
And as you were talking,
I was just really thinking about community,
right?
What does it mean to be a colleague there?
Of course,
we have ego and ego is good and appropriate in its place,
right?
And we,
and we need to be considerate,
but it's like it's like we tell ourselves this false binary is one or the other.
(27:25):
It's workplace as a family or it's all about me and it's neither right?
We can have this wonderful relationships,
meaningful relationships with colleagues that are professional,
that are collegial,
which is this really robust collaborative team environment without it crossing that line of inappropriate family language where we respect the individual.
(27:49):
So that's the ego,
but also the team because we are definitely better together than separate,
which is good for the individual,
which is good for the team.
It's a symbiotic,
healthy relationship.
But we,
we many times,
I think right now where we are is this swing to this individualism and the individualism,
strict individualism without regard for community hurts the individual and,
(28:15):
you know,
demolishes community.
Yeah,
from an organization perspective,
what,
what binds everybody together is the mission of that organization.
So that's why we're there.
Most of us when we move into a company,
it's because in theory,
we believe what that company stands for.
And so if we keep our eyes on that mission while honoring the strengths and the unique talents that each person is bringing in order to um drive that mission forward.
(28:46):
Yeah,
like just beautiful things can happen.
But like you said,
today,
more of us are,
are thinking from the individual.
Um and we're allowing that to happen in our workplaces,
we're promoting people,
you know,
um even in some cases,
um who have that individualistic um behavior and that sense of community,
(29:08):
we need to bring back into our workforce,
go back to the mission of our,
of our companies and,
and even ourselves,
which hopefully is linked um together.
I absolutely agree.
And I think,
you know,
a visioning community in the year 2024 and into the future might look different than it was at different times.
And so I think sometimes people think,
(29:29):
well,
that's just too hard.
And I said,
no,
it's not too hard,
it is difficult,
fine,
but it's not undoable,
it's completely reasonable.
And again,
what is the alternative,
a bunch of,
you know,
disassociated individuals bumping into each other trying to achieve something,
right,
the mission of the organization.
But if we're actually going to,
(29:49):
you know,
develop and create new things that we need for sustainability,
for just our,
the human community,
right,
then we need to be able to be able to work together to create the future and create it collaboratively,
which benefits everybody.
But that means that we have to tell ourselves a new story and figure out what is the appropriate way to move forward with appropriate work life balance and,
(30:17):
and professionalism.
I'm very interested in.
What does it really mean to bring your whole professional self to work?
What does it really mean to be a good colleague?
What is and how do we draw boundaries within that?
But they are all conversations to be had as long as we're having those conversations,
we just seem to not be having them.
(30:38):
Yeah.
Yeah,
I have to say in my day job as an agile coach,
what I appreciate the most is it is about trying to get all the voices at the table.
It'll hurt.
And um you know,
right from the beginning of a kickoff meeting when we design a team,
team canvas,
a team canvas can include the team purpose,
(30:59):
our values as a company,
as a team.
Um our ways of working.
How are we showing up?
When are we showing up?
How are we making decisions?
How are we giving feedback?
This is not about one person making,
you know,
giving the answers to all those,
all those questions,
this is about the team providing input.
And so from an agile perspective,
(31:20):
when you keep that up,
you know,
and,
and I'm a big believer in rituals at the team level,
then this is how people really feel excited and gravitated to whatever the team is trying to produce together.
Yeah,
that's,
it's,
it's,
it's an exciting place to be when you feel that you are shaping a product or,
(31:45):
or whatever,
or a service together with colleagues around you and you know,
that they have your,
their back,
uh they have your back as you have theirs.
And I absolutely agree.
It's,
you know,
coming together,
developing the compass and reminding each other.
But,
and when you do that,
you have a way of coming out of your shell,
(32:05):
you have your way,
a way of really seeing the strengths of your colleagues and how you get to particularly contribute to what's going on.
And it has this sort of synergy.
I can imagine somebody listening and thinking Mary Jessica,
you have no idea where I work,
this is never going to happen.
And the interesting thing about change is that it's always here,
(32:28):
it's always happening.
People come in,
people go about organizations rise,
they fall change is the name of the game.
And the question is,
well,
what kind of change do you want?
First of all?
So we have to have a vision and that's one thing I love about this,
this summit that you have put together.
It's giving people a vision.
What does it actually look like in the concrete particular?
(32:51):
What is it?
I actually want instead of,
I want it to be better?
OK.
good.
What does that practically mean?
And when you look at the list of topics and speakers for this 29 hour plus event,
there are so many sessions and ways to get this kind of creative insight so that I can think about implementation where I am encouragement to think about people,
(33:20):
I can reach out to and resources so that when you go back to your organization,
you aren't alone.
I encourage you to bring,
bring a friend from your organization,
a colleague so that you won't be alone either.
And then the two of you or the three of you or the 10 of you can talk about,
what do we want having those conversations thinking about the different aspects and,
(33:44):
and um doing something new.
Yeah.
And I just wanna add,
this change is completely possible completely within our hands as a humanity to um bring to life.
If I just think about um you know,
a number of years ago,
decades ago when let's say sexual harassment was normal in the workplace and people just accepted that for what it is.
(34:14):
It's just the way,
you know,
it needs to be.
If we talk about that today,
most of us will be horrified.
It's a clear violation of how we work.
We have it in our code of ethics and there are actions or measures that are taken against anybody who violates those.
It will be the same.
I'm proclaiming this,
(34:34):
it will be the same in the future.
When it comes to psychologically unsafe workplaces,
we will be horrified when people are unable to bring their full thoughts to the office place.
We will be horrified when people are bullied in the workplace or gas lit or manipulated in any way.
(34:57):
We have to switch our thinking today which has felt like male currently feels like the norm.
We're no longer if for some of us,
we're no longer horrified when we hear somebody has been uh laid off because they've spoken up because they were a whistleblower.
I am saying,
I believe that in the future there will be no room for this.
(35:19):
So,
but it will take many of us uh to come together and,
and,
and,
and keep eating the drum on on psychologically safe workplaces.
I love your vision and what an excellent real world example.
I mean,
you're right.
You know,
it is absolutely horrifying to think about what was just standard practice and not thought about because of course boys will be boys or people will be people and 100% not acceptable.
(35:50):
Now,
does it still go on?
It goes on and it is allowed to go on when there is a non trans not transparency when people are hidden away.
But the more light we shine,
the more we say that's unacceptable and we have said universally is unacceptable,
but it it only transpires in the,
in the,
in the crevices,
(36:10):
right?
And I love this vision of what will be,
what will we be horrified about in the future,
right?
The way,
the way people are treated.
And as you know,
people say by and large,
they leave people in that organization.
It's the way they were treated that they couldn't take it anymore.
(36:30):
And we also know that people remember how they were treated,
how did I feel around you?
How did you make me feel?
And we think about where we work is temporary,
that we are workers is temporary.
All of this is temporary,
right?
But when we think about what really matters in our life and who has mattered to us,
(36:52):
it is the impact how they cared for us,
how they saw us,
who do we want to be and who do we want people to say that we were,
how we made them feel.
How can we be champions for our colleagues and other people?
Why would we not want that to be our legacy?
(37:13):
Which also happens to be excellent business sense.
Yes,
absolutely.
All of a sudden when you were,
you were saying that I was thinking through leaders who I,
you know,
from 20 years ago,
um who encouraged me,
who championed for me,
who spoke well of me,
(37:33):
even when I wasn't in the room,
I,
I know it because it came back to me later.
I,
um you're absolutely right.
The impact that not just leaders,
people,
our colleagues can have,
you know,
years decades later on,
you uh can be tremendous um in the best way possible.
Absolutely.
(37:54):
So Jessica,
is there anything else that people should know about the speak up summit?
What would you,
what would you like people to know about the summit?
I would like them to know that this is not just an online summit where we're going to listen to talks and,
and then go back to our normal lives.
I want people to know that we are creating something together.
(38:16):
Something that is,
I think it's,
it's even bigger than I can even imagine right now.
I think that if anybody who is a part of this is going to feel like we're going to be part of something that is going to shift the world,
um maybe it's not going to shift the world the day afterwards,
(38:39):
but together we will.
And I just want people to know if there is a change maker in you.
If you have the dream,
you know,
similar to,
you know,
what you and I share Mary come,
just come to this summit.
We want everyone who is gravitated to this cause to come.
(39:03):
Because again,
that sense of community is what we're,
we're building and we need to link arms with as many people as possible across the world.
I love that.
That leads me to my next question.
One of my last questions is now,
let's suppose somebody is listening to this podcast on June 15th,
2024.
(39:24):
And so,
oh,
they missed it.
How can they still benefit from what has happened at the summit?
So,
vanguard voices is hosting this.
So first things first is get onto our,
our,
our mailing list onto our newsletter because we will certainly be sending updates on a regular basis.
After that,
we have recordings from the summit and we will find ways to,
(39:46):
to,
to share this in a broader,
broader sense,
especially for those who have interest and who hear about this afterwards.
And as well,
again,
the outcome of the summit is building this founding community.
So we will invite anybody who is interested who wants to take an active role to join us in this online community.
(40:09):
And we will have regular catch ups and meetups essentially to strategize on the next steps.
Who do you see as populating this community?
Are you primarily talking to hr individuals c suite individuals,
line managers who,
who do you see as being the change makers in this space?
All of the above.
So it's,
(40:30):
it's certainly leaders at the highest levels have a lot of influence.
That's clear.
So,
you know,
hr professionals as well,
DN I professional CS R,
those in CS R rules as well,
I believe that this is a top down,
bottom up side to side effort.
And so we are looking for leaders who want to help with their influence,
(40:55):
to lead the way we are looking for employees at any level to help lead the way we as a community will support,
support you.
Part of the vision of this community is not only to support at an individual level but from an organizational level.
And so because we have such amazing expertise through the speakers,
(41:18):
through the connections,
the coaches that we have,
we can build the teams to help those organizations who lift their hands and say help and we will rally together and,
and say,
look at the great work of these companies.
So anybody who is willing to lift up their hands and say,
particularly the leaders who say,
(41:38):
you know,
we want to be an example.
We want to be a flagship company.
We we welcome with open arms.
That's excellent.
I absolutely agree that this initiative takes everybody,
but we certainly need the leaders who are in place to say us,
us first.
We want to lead the way.
The wonderful thing about leadership is that it doesn't have to have a title.
(41:59):
And so if you're thinking,
well,
you know,
I just work at this organization,
I don't have a particular title,
guess what?
You can be the leader.
And we all lead by example,
we,
we put out there what we think is appropriate workplace behavior,
what we think is acceptable and unacceptable.
And so you can be the leader no matter where you are in your organization.
(42:22):
And if that is something that resonates with you,
I really believe that vanguard voices is an excellent resource for you.
And I certainly hope that you take time to come to the summit.
So Jessica,
people want to sign up for the summit.
How do they do it?
They come to www dot the speak up summit.com.
(42:42):
And I do want to say that we want to make this as accessible as possible to anyone across the world.
If you are in a challenging situation,
maybe you're unemployed,
whatever the situation may be,
reach out to us.
Um we will certainly offer discounted tickets.
We also offer an option for pay what you want.
(43:03):
Just don't we want the barrier of entry to be as low as possible.
So,
yeah,
we,
we welcome anybody who believes in this with,
with open arms.
It's wonderful.
Well,
the link will be in the show notes for that you,
you'd be able to click on.
And um Jessica,
I am so thankful for the incredible work that you have put in and the team that you have assembled for this very important mission of really respecting individuals in a place where they spend most of their lives at work,
(43:35):
how we have healthy work environments,
I think really matters about how we treat people.
And I'm so appreciative of the work that you've put into this.
Thank you.
I appreciate you too,
Mary.
Well,
Jessica,
I will see you at the summit and I'm gonna start getting my sleep now because I had to go to as many of these of as many as I can.
(43:57):
So,
all right,
well,
take care and best of luck and I wish you all the sleep and rest afterwards,
but there's a lot of work to be done.
So get out there and register for this wonderful international completely virtual online summit.
Jessica.
Thank you so much for being on Conflict Managed.
Every chance I get to speak with you is a pure joy for me.
(44:21):
The work that you are doing to transform our work environments is really nothing short of inspirational.
I appreciate it so much what you are working towards and the vision that you have and the and the community you have already gathered for this international human effort to have psychologically safe work environments and dear listener,
(44:43):
I sure hope that you join us for the Speak up summit.
I encourage you to go to the website and peruse all the wonderful topics available.
I encourage you to go out and look at the Speak up summit.
Lineup,
register to get coaching if that's what you're interested in and look at all the wonderful possibilities.
If you would like to hear more about Jessica and her background,
(45:03):
you can go back in time and listen to episode 74 which is called Psychological Safety at work,
which features Jessica Bench in a traditional style episode of Conflict Managed.
Conflict Managed is produced by third party workplace Conflict Restoration Services and hosted by me,
Merry Brown.
You can find us online at 3PConflictRestoration.com.
(45:26):
Our music is courtesy of Dove Pilot and remember,
conflict is normal and to be expected.
Let's deal with it.
And I look forward to seeing you at the summit until next time.
Take care.
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