I say this once again with the weight of hard-earned experience within the fields of leadership, social science, and just being a whole person so others can attempt to begin to pretend to be an entire human being for themselves.
Don’t confuse psychological safety with “Safe Spaces.”
They are not the same thing. To assume otherwise (whether out of convenience or ignorance) will cause severe consequences.
Safe spaces treat people as fragile and dissenting ideas as threats. Psychologically safe environments are constructed with the capacity to embrace and learn from respectful disagreement.
Exposure to diverging views is fuel for growth.
Fragile is a deliberate word, as it reminds folk that a person is in a state where they can more easily be harmed or damaged. Regardless of how “good” or “ill” the intention, like a glass of wine at a dodgeball tournament, the threat of being in that space is genuine for the glass.
To be clear for the contrarians warming up their pre-arthritic fingers and everyone else. Space Spaces matter. But, do not confuse a space that can be created or repurposed for the human need for people to feel Psychologically Safe in an environment.
