Unleashing the Power of Psychological Safety: Insights from Big Self School and How to Create a Thriving Workplace
Dr. Shelley Prevost, Co-founder of Big Self School
We had the honor of interviewing Shelley Prevost, the visionary founder of the Big Self School, and reboot their lives after burnout. With an impressive track record as a successful entrepreneur, renowned speaker, and champion of personal growth and self-discovery, Shelley has devoted her career to empowering individuals to unleash their inherent potential and find fulfillment in every aspect of their lives.
By tapping into Shelley's wisdom, we had the opportunity to explore her invaluable insights and gain a fresh perspective on personal development, well-being, and the profound impact they can have in today's ever-evolving world. During our conversation, she shed light on the core principles behind Big Self School's approach to personal growth, providing us with a deeper understanding of how to cultivate self-awareness, authenticity, and purpose in our lives. Moreover, she emphasized the crucial role of fostering psychological safety in our workplaces, creating environments that fuel collaboration, innovation, and maximizes potential.
Big Self School's emphasis on self-awareness, authenticity, and personal growth in achieving psychological safety highlights the significance of these principles in creating thriving work environments. We invite you to dive into the full interview below, where you'll discover the transformative insights shared by Shelley Prevost, inspiring you to embark on a journey of personal growth and the pursuit of psychological safety in your own life and workplace.
In the context of psychological safety in the workplace, Big Self School emphasizes the importance of self-awareness and authenticity. How can executives and leaders encourage individuals to cultivate a deeper understanding of themselves, fostering an environment where employees feel safe to explore and align their actions with their core values?
I believe that you cannot create what you don't possess. If psychological safety hinges on self-awareness and trust and those are values you want to cultivate, you have to possess them. You have to model them, and model them often. It's not enough to communicate about them -- that relegates them to an exercise in intellectualization -- you have to be willing to do the work of becoming aware of your own biases and blind spots and to ask people you trust for feedback. I'm not sure we can really encourage anyone to cultivate a deeper understanding of themselves. People have to want that for themselves. But I also don't think we have to manufacture experiences to develop more self-awareness. These experiences are all around us if we're open to seeing them. I tell clients to notice when they are reactive and to what they are reacting. Our reactivity is often a portal into some deeper insights about ourselves if we're willing to look and learn from our discomfort rather than stay defensive.
Psychological safety plays a crucial role in overcoming self-limiting beliefs and unlocking individuals' full potential. Could you share effective strategies or practices that executives can implement to create a psychologically safe environment that supports individuals in challenging and reframing their self-limiting beliefs?
I think these are more 1:1 coaching-style of conversations. Challenging and reframing limiting beliefs can be hard work, and almost impossible in a group. If the leader is a trusted colleague, then they have what I call "earned intimacy." They have earned the right to ask someone about a possible limiting belief. If you haven't earned this level of trust, then no amount of probing will help. And will likely only make them feel more defensive. I try to go into these conversations with gentleness, curiosity, and a willingness to be wrong. There are times when a boundary has to be set with an individual to ensure the team's safety and cohesion. In times like this, the word "nonetheless" will be your best friend. For example, "I can tell you were really upset in that last meeting we had and I want to understand that. Nonetheless, it's not OK to lash out like that. That's not helping our team to build trust with each other which is something we all want." Some variations of this can build empathy, while also ensuring that everyone feels safe.
"Big self" suggests personal growth and stepping outside comfort zones. As an executive, how do you inspire and motivate individuals to embrace personal transformation within the workplace, encouraging them to take risks and expand their capabilities while still ensuring a psychologically safe environment?
Two things come to mind: 1) slow people down and 2) believe in them. Some of the best leaders I see are more coaches than managers. They slow down the pace and steady the waters. They ask great questions that require their people to think differently. They maintain a 5:1 positivity-to-negativity ratio. Great leaders know they must nudge and critique at times, but they reserve criticisms for things that matter to the goal and they offset inevitable feelings of negativity with a high priority on generating positivity. (According to research, 5:1 seems to be the tipping point for the most effective balance.)
Setbacks and challenges are inevitable on the journey of personal growth. In the context of psychological safety, what advice do you have for executives on helping individuals maintain resilience, bounce back from failures or setbacks, and use them as opportunities for growth and learning?
Expect discomfort. So much of our stress comes from unacknowledged and mismanaged expectations. When you expect things to go off the rails at times, then you won't freak out when they do. It's part of the process. In fact, it's a valuable part of the process.
Don't be urgent. Building psychological safety is like building SEO, it takes time. There's no timeline for human relationships. Consider it a long play. Adopt a growth mindset, which is all about using challenges as opportunities to learn and grow. This mindset can be taught (to yourself and others) and it's incredibly effective for building resilience. Instead of “We're never going to get this right." Shift to "We've not figured this out yet but we're getting better."
Big Self School focuses on fostering a sense of purpose and meaning in life. In the workplace, how can executives guide individuals in discovering their purpose, aligning their passions and values, and creating a fulfilling work life that contributes to a psychologically safe and supportive organizational culture?
Meaning and purpose are human needs. As mentioned previously, I think these things are more 'caught' than 'taught.' Modeling how they are pursuing meaning and purpose (and all the micronegotiations that go with that) will go far. Clarifying personal priorities and boundaries, keeping eyes toward the shared goal, and proactively engaging ALL voices in that process will show the executives are 'walking the walk' with their team.
To dive deeper into the holistic coaching and practices of Big Self School, we invite you to visit their website at bigselfschool.com.
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