.png)
Google analyzed the factors that make a work team successful. They found five that were important. Of those five, the most critical was Psychological Safety. In fact, it is the foundation of the other four. When a company as successful and as techy as Google says that Psychological Safety is necessary, it's time to listen.
Brings us back to Deming and Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs: we can't do much when we're afraid for our own survival.
I completely agree that psychological safety comes first. We should recognize that this is a significant challenge for women and people of color in a workplace. Constantly having to be twice as good just to keep up is exhausting. And that pales in comparison to dealing with the “isms” that permeate many workplaces.
