Let’s Create Some Brave Space!
“Together we will create brave space. Because there is no such thing as a ‘safe space’ …” — Micky ScottBey Jones
Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about the concept of “psychological safety”; what it is, why it is so often missing on teams and in organizations (or even friendships), and what can be done to address that. Indeed, over the past year during the COVID pandemic, I’ve heard numerous stories from colleagues around the country about a lack of psychological safety in their organizations and the negative impact this has had on patient care quality, team effectiveness, and individual and group morale.
Amy Edmondson, who has her PhD in organizational psychology, has written and spoken extensively on the subject of psychological safety in organizations. She defines psychological safety as “ … a belief that the context is safe for interpersonal risk-taking – that speaking up with ideas, questions, concerns, or mistakes will be welcomed and valued even when I’m wrong.” It is this sense of safety to engage in open, risk-free dialogue that many colleagues have yearned for but has been missing for them.
Two years ago I first read the poem by Micky ScottBey Jones titled “An Invitation to Brave Space,” the first line of which is the quote that headed this blog and the full poem which is included below. In reading and reflecting on her words, I experienced a shift in my thinking regarding the purpose of creating interpersonal “safe space.” For me, the purpose of creating “safe space” changed from being an end in itself to instead creating the circumstances that can make the way for “brave space” – that the subjective experience of “safety” (which is quite real) was necessary to help overcome fear, but not sufficient for what was ultimately desired, which was to be more effective in our work and in our relationships through improved connection.
In order to do that, one has to move from feeling secure to feeling vulnerable, from being unarmored to being open, from comfortable to curious, from working “safely” in the same space with others to truly working side-by-side.
So this week, consider how you are contributing to the psychological safety of those around you by being vulnerable, open, and curious, and consider those circumstances where you are not doing those things because you yourself are not feeling psychologically safe. And then take some steps to address it, so you and your team can move through safe space into brave space. For it is from that space that everyone’s “best” will emerge, individually and collectively.
An Invitation to Brave Space (Micky ScottBey Jones)
Together we will create brave space.
Because there is no such thing as a “safe space” —
We exist in the real world.
We all carry scars and we have all caused wounds.
In this space
We seek to turn down the volume of the outside world,
We amplify voices that fight to be heard elsewhere,
We call each other to more truth and love.
We have the right to start somewhere and continue to grow.
We have the responsibility to examine what we think we know.
We will not be perfect.
This space will not be perfect.
It will not always be what we wish it to be.
But
It will be our brave space together,
and
We will work on it side by side.