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„Key Concept: The leader's task is to simultaneously increase intellectual friction and decrease social friction.“

„Key concept: Psychological safety is a condition in which you feel

(1) included,
(2) safe to learn,
(3) safe to contribute, and
(4) safe to challenge the status quo

All without fear of being embarrassed, marginalized, or punished in some way.“

„This book addresses broken human interaction. I'm writing primarily to business leaders, but my message applies to any social unit. I want to shine a light on how we get along, decode the science of silence, and explore what it takes to liberate our voices and connect more effectively. Specifically, I want to share with you what I've learned about the way psychological safety influences behavior, performance, and happiness. What's the mechanism? How do we activate or deactivate it? I'm in…“ 1/

„… the pattern-recognition business. When it comes to the way people interact, the patterns are unmistakable, and the challenge is universal. What I have to say is both empirical and normative. I make no apologies for combining cold, dispassionate observations with warm, passionate pleas because the use case, the job to be done, is to offer practical guidance.“ /2

„Why, after thousands of years, are we technologically advanced
and still sociologically primitive? As social creatures, we act like free electrons, demonstrating both connection and contention. It's true that we need each other to flourish. Yet despite knowing this, we suffer from compassion fatigue, are handicapped by our blind spots, and chronically regress to the mean. We go through cycles of embracing and exiling each other. Indeed, the study of humans in social settings is…“ 1/

„… largely the study of exclusion and fear. For example, a mere third of US workers believe their opinions count.“ /2

„I have four questions to ask you:

• First, do you truly believe that all men and women are created equal, and do you accept others and welcome them into your society simply because they possess flesh and blood even if their values differ from your own?

• Second, without bias or discrimination, do you encourage others to learn and grow, and do you support them in that process even when they lack confidence or make mistakes?

• Third, do you grant others maximum…“ 1/

„… autonomy to contribute in their own way as they demonstrate their ability to deliver results?

• Fourth, do you consistently invite others to challenge the status quo in order to make things better, and are you personally prepared to be wrong based on the humility and learning mindset you have developed?“ /2

„These four questions align with the four stages of psychological safety. In large measure, the way you answer these questions will define the way you value human beings and your relationships with them. It will define the way you draw people out or shut them down, create confidence or induce fear, encourage or discourage. It will determine how you lead and influence others.“

„Key concept: When you compare and compete, you lose the ability to connect.“

„I'm not advocating heroism and grand expressions of self-sacrifice. No, my charge to you is, in the most basic sense, to treat human beings as they deserve to be treated - without arbitrary distinctions. Accept them, encourage them, respect them, and allow them. If you want to be happy, come to terms with your fellow creatures. Lose the mock superiority. Stop nursing wrongs and start reaching out. […] If you can create a little more psychological safety for your fellow travelers, it will…“ 1/

„… change your life and theirs. I'm inviting you to change. Change the way you view and treat humanity. The journey I take you on will create both joy and pain. Were never quite ready for that, so the real question is: Are you willing? The real frontier of modernity is not artificial intelligence; it's emotional and social intelligence. Let me show you why.“ /2

Whoa!

That was only the… preface.

„In the hierarchy of needs, psychological safety straddles fulfill-ment, belonging, and security needs-three of the four basic need categories. Once the basic physical needs of food and shelter are met, psychological safety becomes a priority.“

„In organizations, it's an uncontested finding that high psychological safety drives performance and innovation, while low psychological safety incurs the disabling costs of low productivity and high attrition. Googles Project Aristotle proved that IQ points and money don't necessarily produce results. After studying 180 of its teams, Google found that smarts and resources can't compensate for what a team may lack in psychological safety. In fact, the company landed on psychological…“ 1/

„… safety as the single most important factor in explaining high performance.“ /2

„My fieldwork with organizations across industries, cultures, and demographics has led me to identify a consistent pattern in the ways that social units grant psychological safety and how individuals perceive it. There's a natural progression across four developmental stages based on a combination of respect and permission. By respect, I mean the general level of regard and esteem we give each other. To respect someone is to value and appreciate them. By permission, I mean the permission…“ 1/

„… given to others to participate as members of a social unit, the degree to which we allow them to influence us and participate in what we are doing. As organizations grant increasing levels of respect and permission, individuals generally behave in a way that reflects the level of psychological safety offered to them. Each stage encourages individuals to engage more and accelerate both their personal development and the value-creation process.“ /2

„Why do citizens spew vitrol and hate? Why has the suicide rate in the United States increased by 33 percent in just the last eighteen years? Directly linked to alienation, disaffection, and ostracism, these tragic outcomes result from deeply unmet needs. Clearly, granting and receiving inclusion safety is a matter not only of happiness but, indeed, life and death.“

„Key concept: When the environment belittles, demeans, or harshly corrects people in the learning process, learner safety is destroyed.“