The audience will learn how to create a psychologically safe workplace environment, resulting in improved employer/employee communication, employee-to-employee collaboration, productivity and growth.
The issue of safety seems to be on everyone’s mind these days and for good reason. Many employers seek methods and action plans to reduce employee burnout, ease tension between management and workers, and foster balance for the business owners themselves. But first, we need to create an environment of safe boundaries, safe communication, and safe connection. This is where my next guest comes into play.
Sharon K. Summerfield, Founder of The Nourished Executive, Mentor, Connector, and Wellbeing Coach, will be on Employment Law Today to describe how employers can create a psychologically safe environment in which employees and managers can communicate, learn, heal, and grow.
We will discuss how these lessons can apply to our personal lives as well. And that’s something that we *all* could use right now.
Tune in Tuesday when Wendy and I will discuss how to enhance engagement, focus, and job satisfaction corporate-wide!
LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/sharonksummerfield/
Website – https://www.nourishedexecutive.ca/
By Segment
SEGMENT 1
00:42-14:37 – Eric welcomes his guest, Sharon K. Summerfield, Founder of The Nourished Executive. He also introduces the topic for today’s episode, which is about how to create a psychologically safe workplace environment. Sharon says that her career originally started in Neptune Terminals where she started as a receptionist. She mentions not knowing about terms psychological safety, bullying or anything related to this while being with Neptune. She says that management always had their backs and inappropriate behavior was taken seriously. If there was inappropriate behavior, the person involved would have to apologize or the company would never do business with them again. Sharon mentions other fields and places that she has worked in. One thing that she has seen throughout time is people feeling burn out as well as bullying. Sharon went back to school part time and became a Holistic Nutritionist. She then founded The Nourished Executive. Her goals are wanting to help people find ways of harmonizing their lives with the goal of preventing burnout. She defines psychological safety in the work that she does.
SEGMENT 2
16:52-29:26 – Eric and Sharon talk about why psychological safety is a necessary foundation for employers if they want to improve their employees’ connection and productivity in the workplace. Sharon mentions employees’ wellbeing is now in the front and center of what’s looked at. Understanding that inappropriate behavior for example, won’t be tolerated is important especially when working in teams not just in your organizations but even when with multiple organizations. She mentions the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster with NASA where engineers didn’t want the launch to happen. She says that because of the lack of psychological safety, they were shut down and opinions were not paid attention to. In these incidents, unfortunately people learn to navigate around these things or learn to not say anything because their opinions are not valued. Eric and Sharon make the pint that mistakes can be shared and it can be a learning experience. Sharon also says that without psychological safety, there is no creativity and innovation.
SEGMENT 3
31:31-45:34 – Sharon talks more about psychological safety and how it isn’t something that you can do by having a special coffee machine or a mat room for yoga. Rather, psychological safety has to be part of how you do business. She says that how we treat each other is how we are going to treat shareholders, clients, and more. Psychological safety creates a roadmap in how we value each other. Eric and Sharon discuss the importance of actually “walking the walk” other than just handing out policies. Sharon says that part of psychological safety is being able to say no. She also encourages people to get back to the basics of meeting planning. If 48 hours before a meeting there is still no agenda, decline it. Sharon also talks about speaking up and creating boundaries. She makes the point that asking for time off or taking a break is a strength, not a weakness. They also discuss how employers should model what is better, meaning treating themselves right and treating others respectfully as well. It’s important for employees to see this from them too.
SEGMENT 4
Segment 4
47:34-57:32 – Sharon talks about how The Nourished Executive differentiates itself from other coaches and mentors who work with business leaders. She encourages people who she works with to see how they can invest in their selfcare not just once a year, but every day. Maybe it’s getting outside and going for a walk or having a phone call and adding it to your walk. She hopes that we’ll transition more into confidence between team members like employers and their employees. She also mentions another thing to look out for and it’s what she calls “crazy pay” where one gets paid a lot, but it’s at the cost of their well being. You can connect with Sharon Summerfield through her website at nourishedexecutive.ca, Linkedin, Instagram at thenourishedexecutive, Facebook at nourishedexec and Twitter at nourishedexec. Before closing the show, Sharon says to be kind and patient with yourself, and be nourished in all you do.
About Employment Law Today
Helping Business With Employment Law Issues.
For many business owners, it can be overwhelming to keep up and comply with the federal and state labor and employment laws that govern how they run their business. With the COVID-19 pandemic, there are new laws and regulations regarding hiring, firing, and workplace practices and protocols — all of which can increase business owners’ anxieties about regaining traction or thriving again. On my weekly show, we will be discussing the most common employment law related questions and challenges that business owners have been facing in these uncertain times.
The show will have three main goals: (1) to inform businesses about employment law updates, (2) to inspire businesses by giving them the tools to move forward, and (3) to demonstrate how some business owners have overcome their employment law problems, walked through the challenges imposed by this pandemic, and have taken steps to regain traction during the reopening phases of this pandemic.
Our guests will include professionals who advise businesses from an H.R., legal, and financial perspective, along with thriving business owners who will share their experiences and insights into running a successful company while complying with labor and employment law mandates during COVID-19.