An executive criticized my management work by claiming I was “too nice” to my team and unwilling to make hard calls and reprimand employees. I acknowledged I wasn’t sure, but declined to change my practice. It took years to realize the disconnect: I was aiming for a wildly more challenging standard that I didn’t have the words to explain. I do now.

Psychological safety is the most powerful productivity multiplier. Without it, no one can take ownership of their piece of the company and make it better. You won’t get the honest feedback you need to succeed. You easily get trapped in feedback loops of management panic & overreaction reducing safety, which creates worse outcomes, which creates more panic.

On a scale of 1-10 (where 10 is perfect psychological safety), this is what I see:

• Most companies are at 1 across the board.
• “Top Workplaces” are in the 3-4 range.
• I’m aiming for an 8 on my teams, maybe achieving 5 or 6 on my best days.

If you’re working for a company with a ‘2’ for psychological safety and you see someone run their team with a goal of ‘8’, I understand the criticism. The bar is at your feet and you see someone trying to pole vault over it, which looks like a waste of energy and a misalignment of goals. From the ground, it looks stupid and counterproductive.

Practice pole vaulting for a while. It’s incredibly challenging, but you’ll see stuff you can’t from the ground. Your internal standards will grow. Eventually, you’ll ignore the bar too.