Why Leading Others is Hard.
Making Leadership Work - Fostering Psychosocial Safety at Work.
Release Date: 05/15/2023
Learn To Trust Yourself When Challenged
Making Leadership Work - Fostering Psychosocial Safety at Work.
Understand what makes it safe enough to admit mistakes, ask for help, and learn alongside each other — even when you're struggling. In this final episode of our special bonus season, hosts Dr Michelle McQuaid and Evie Wright share the powerful mantra "stay with me" — the opposite of abandoning ourselves when things get hard. With insights from self-compassion researcher Dr Kristin Neff and Internal Family Systems psychologist Dr Tori Olds, discover why your inner critic thinks it's helping (even when it's not), and learn to meet your protective parts with curiosity instead of shame....
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Build Your Take-Anywhere Somatic Toolkit
Making Leadership Work - Fostering Psychosocial Safety at Work.
Our bodies have to calm down before our thoughts can follow — and this is the step most of us skip. In this second episode of our special bonus season, hosts Dr Michelle McQuaid and Evie Wright share practical body-based tools you can use anywhere, anytime: in meetings, during difficult conversations, or mid-presentation (without anyone noticing). With guest insights from somatic expert Nahid de Belgeonne, author of Soothed, learn how to think of your nervous system as an inner toddler that needs our compassion and care — not criticism. 00:03 Michelle and Evie welcome...
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Decode Your Nervous System Signals
Making Leadership Work - Fostering Psychosocial Safety at Work.
Discover why the pace of change has left so many of us quietly cracking — and why this isn't a personal energy or resilience failing. In this first episode of our special bonus season, hosts Dr Michelle McQuaid and Evie Wright explore how to decode the signals your nervous system sends: why you say "I'm fine" when you're anything but, or "I'll take care of it" when you're already exhausted. With guest insights from therapist and author Sue Marriott, learn about the connection and protection circuits that shape your responses to stress, and discover why understanding your green, blue, and...
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Leading Human-Centered Change - Your HEART Check
Making Leadership Work - Fostering Psychosocial Safety at Work.
While new data suggests 58% of changes fail, organizations using human-centered methods achieve 93% success rates. What's the difference? This final episode reveals how the HEART framework helps teams thrive through today's supercycle of change by helping people feel 'safe enough' to embrace not having all the answers, self-organize around actions they care enough to own, and measure success by growing their capabilities to navigate uncertainty together. We bring together all five HEART factors into one simple practice you can do anywhere, anytime. 02:00 Michelle shares how she talks...
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Take Tiny Steps – Sustaining Momentum
Making Leadership Work - Fostering Psychosocial Safety at Work.
Change initiatives often start with such confidence - neat timelines, clear milestones, everyone aligned - yet within weeks things feel messy and unpredictable. What makes the reality so different from the plan? This episode explores why "tiny is mighty" when it comes to navigating complex change. We share the T in our HEART framework with practical tools for embracing polarities rather than false choices, starting where you are, sensing when to adapt, and celebrating small wins that build the resilience needed to thrive in ongoing uncertainty. 01:04 Chelle explains the benefits of Taking...
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Reach Out – Connecting Ideas & Resources
Making Leadership Work - Fostering Psychosocial Safety at Work.
Why do some teams emerge from uncertainty stronger and more connected, while others splinter into silos where everyone's fending for themselves? The difference lies in whether people feel safe enough to admit they're struggling and ask for help. This episode reveals why reaching out is often the one simple act standing between you and success during change. We share the R in our HEART framework with practical tools for normalizing struggle, making it easier to ask for and offer help, and ensuring no one burns out from caring. 01:12 Chelle explains why Reaching Out helps us to navigate the...
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Appreciate Strengths – Fuelling Confidence & Capability
Making Leadership Work - Fostering Psychosocial Safety at Work.
Ever notice how some changes leave people feeling energized and capable while others leave them exhausted and overwhelmed? What creates this difference? Why do some uncertainties feel like exciting challenges while others trigger that familiar "Oh FUD!" spiral of fear, uncertainty and doubt? This episode explores how to fuel people’s confidence, make the most of their capabilities, and help them stay curious about how they can navigate change more effectively together. We share the A in our HEART framework with evidence-based approaches to help you build on people’s strengths while also...
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Engage Purposefully – Winning People’s Commitment
Making Leadership Work - Fostering Psychosocial Safety at Work.
Have you ever been in a meeting where someone shares a "big announcement" and you can practically hear everyone's minds turning off? Compare that to times when you're figuring out a problem together with people you trust - same amount of work, totally different feeling. What makes some complex changes feel safe enough to lean into while others feel dead on arrival? This episode explores how to turn grudging compliance into willing commitment during change. We share the E in our HEART framework with practical tools for meaningful conversations that support self-organization. 01.09 Michelle...
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Honor Feelings - Your Nervous System’s Navigation System
Making Leadership Work - Fostering Psychosocial Safety at Work.
Why do some people thrive during change while others get completely overwhelmed? It comes down to whether their nervous system feels "safe enough" to stay curious and collaborative. This episode explores how your emotions impact your brain's internal navigation system and energy for change. We share the H in our HEART framework with concrete tools for reading these signals at individual, team, and organizational levels, transforming emotional chaos into psychological safety. 3:00 Chelle explains why Honoring Feelings is the best neurological place to start when navigating change. 8.13 Chelle...
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Navigating The Human Side Of Change
Making Leadership Work - Fostering Psychosocial Safety at Work.
Ever wonder why change feels so much harder than it did in the past? We're in an unprecedented supercycle where disruptions collide and create ongoing "Oh FUD!" responses - Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt that are flooding our nervous systems. Based on our work with organizations around the world, we share why traditional approaches miss what matters most and introduce our HEART framework for supporting teams through the emotional reality of transformation, even when uncertainty is the only constant. 1:49 Michelle discusses the concept of a "poly crisis" and why we are in a supercycle of change...
info_outlineDr. Michelle McQuaid and Dr. Paige Williams help you unpack the new psychosocial safety leadership requirements and share the small, practical, evidence-based tools that can not only make the way we work safer but also supercharge the wellbeing and performance of leaders and teams.
You'll learn:
[01:42] - Michelle and Paige discuss the difference between psychosocial safety and psychological safety.
[04:12] - Michelle and Paige discuss what has led to workplaces needing psychosocial hazard legislation.
[11:25] - Michelle and Paige discuss the costs of mental health in workplaces and society.
[15:13] - Michelle and Paige discuss the importance of taking a proactive approach to supporting wellbeing in the workplace.
[18:27] - Paige and Michelle explore how safety has become a business requirement, and care has become a business imperative.
[26:57] - Michelle and Paige discuss the business case for fostering psychological safety in the workplace.
[34:18] - Michelle and Paige discuss how the frequency of either psychosocial hazards (experienced too often) or wellbeing initiatives (experienced not often enough) can impact workers' wellbeing.
[41:10] - Michelle and Paige share some of their leadership insights.
To stay a part of the conversation and up to date with the latest research and evidence-based ways to supercharge safety for your people, join us on The Leaders Lab LinkedIn Page https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/theleaderslab/
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Until next time, take care.