Joanne explained that her and her team felt underappreciated by their customers and coworkers. Consequently, Joanne was concerned that one or more of her team could leave and go to a competitor.
I reassured Joanne that there were research-based best practices that she could implement within her team that would shift the emotional impact of their internal communications. Plus, communications with their outside colleagues and customers would become more productive and positive.
I showed Joanne the slide her boss had shown at the retreat. He had defined a culture as the attitudes and behaviors that are unseen yet shape what occurs within any team. I suggested that Joanne’s team could adopt the same cultural categories for her team.
·      Collaborative: Sharing ideas, helping one another to solve problems, and asking teammates for feedback before making important decisions.
·      Accountable: Each person takes responsibility for their work and follows through on commitments they make. (Announces in advance if a commitment will be missed and negotiates a new date.)
·      Supportive: Team members look out for each other’s work-life balance and support learning and professional development.
·      Respectful: Everyone is treated fairly, different opinions are valued, and quieter members are encouraged to share their thoughts.
·      Innovative: Brainstorming is encouraged to help solve problems. Creativity sessions are held once a month using training facilitators. Experimentation skills are taught and used. Learning from mistakes is a best practice. And documentation is required so everyone in the organization has access.
I suggested that Joanne remind her team that her company’s culture was unique in two specific ways.
·      Each employee is trained to express gratitude in their daily interactions with people inside and outside of the organization. Their training includes reviewing the research demonstrating the benefits of expressing and receiving gratitude which improved the mental and physical health of people.
·      The company has a policy where individuals or teams who go the extra mile to improve a process, do something special for a customer, or innovate and create value for the company will receive monetary reward plus choose an experience for themselves or family members and friends. Experiences like going to a theme park create lasting memories which the employee cherishes long after they spend the cash reward.
Joanne left our conversation happier and ready to take action with her team. My hope is that each of you reading this will also be inspired to apply one or more of these best practices at work and perhaps in your life outside of work. It’s my belief that the communities in which we live and work are like living organisms which need our care and attention in order to keep thriving.
Please contact me for complimentary, confidential conversations for anything you would like to change in your work or in your life: tom@corporateinnovation.com; 310-948-3722.
Tom Drucker MA Clinical Psychology UCLA , PhD Work at Anderson School of Business UCLA, is a founding partner of Consultants in Corporate Innovation, transforming leaders and teams plus improving processes in companies big and small. He is also a managing director at Janas Investment Bank. Learn more about him at www.corporate-innovation.com and janascorp.com.
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​The strongest predictor of high performing teams is psychological safety. Teams of people that trust one another enough to speak honestly consistently outperform other teams. These team members ask questions, challenge assumptions, request help, and offer new ideas. They’re not afraid to share unpopular opinions and they can debate each other vigorously, knowing they will not hurt the feelings of others because they know how to separate the content of their argument from the personalities involved.
Having high trust internally also impacts customer loyalty because when employees trust each other, they share information freely allowing them to deliver more consistent service and solve the customer problems faster.

Fred (not his real name) runs a midsized company providing IT services to law firms. He employs 35 people serving a large metropolitan area in southern California. Four years ago, I helped Fred conduct an offsite where among other things we launched an annual employee survey process. This process administered by Fred’s HR partner gathers anonymous information about how engaged employees are, how psychologically safe they feel and other categories related to servicing law firms and dealing with cybersecurity and continuing the employee’s professional development.

The keys to any survey process are the actions taken based on the data. When Fred showed me the results of his latest survey, what stood out to me was a drop in psychological safety which research shows is highly correlated to a drop in the levels of trust people experience.

I then reviewed with Fred what I had learned when I consulted with Google several years ago. They spent several years studying 180 teams to determine what made some teams more successful than others. The findings showed that the quickest way to boost trust and improve psychological safety is to strengthen the bond between an employee and their manager.

I encouraged Fred to quickly create an initiative of one on one conversations between each supervisor and their technicians. I told him to make these conversations a priority and even if he had to pay overtime. Fred should tell the supervisor the goal of these conversations is to have both people feel valued, appreciated and more fully known as an individual.
I gave Fred a one-page worksheet where each would respond to the following items: What jobs they had before coming to Fred’s company, their family life, where they grew up, where they’ve traveled or hope to travel, their professional goals, and what each could do to make the other’s job easier. At the end of the conversation, both parties should reflect. Then come up with actions that if taken would benefit each person and or customers, the company, etc. The supervisor would then type up these action items detailing who should do what by when and why. Send four copies out, one to the technician, one for themselves, one to the HR partner, and one to Fred. Both the supervisor and the technician will communicate to HR and Fred after completing each commitment.

The next step was for Fred to hold an all hands meeting at lunch at a nice restaurant. I suggested Fred greet each employee by name, shaking their hands and welcoming them. Then, brief comments before lunch thanking them for the time they spent having the one on ones and sending their action items to him, which he had read and looked forward to being updated on their completion and the difference they would be making.

 After lunch, Fred would announce his own commitments:
·       A weekly 15 minute all hands meeting providing information on project status and client satisfaction feedback.
·       Publishing a schedule to train every supervisor to conduct monthly one on one conversations.
·       Training every supervisor to conduct monthly one on ones focused on listening, coaching, removing any obstacles, and developing new skills.
·       Launching a new process he called a blameless retrospective after a significant client project to ensure there is documentation and to promote organizational learning.

 My purpose in sharing this story is to reinforce how tightly trust and psychological safety are bonded together, and how this duo boosts performance and employee satisfaction. I encourage everyone to monitor your own level of trust and then speak from your heart so that your relationships at work and elsewhere feel psychologically safe. That way, you will be able to make your work and your life a form of creative self-expression.
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Please contact me for complimentary, confidential conversations for anything you would like to change in your work or in your life: tom@corporateinnovation.com; 310-948-3722.
Tom Drucker MA Clinical Psychology UCLA , PhD Work at Anderson School of Business UCLA, is a founding partner of Consultants in Corporate Innovation, transforming leaders and teams plus improving processes in companies big and small. He is also a managing director at Janas Investment Bank. Learn more about him at www.corporate-innovation.com and janascorp.com.

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Yesterday at breakfast I was talking to two colleagues about how we all use AI. Their faces lit up with excitement as they each described the time it was saving them from repetitive work.
The wealth manager Doug said Claude now built into his email was able to respond in what he described as “his voice.” He always carefully read the text and often edited words, phrases, and punctuation before pressing send. He said Claude is great but not good enough for his company and his clients without his oversight.

The private banker Scott was equally enthusiastic. He described how he used several AI agents for different tasks. He used TrendSpider to track the NYSE and Holly AI to act as a virtual trading assistant. He also commented that there is no substitute for listening carefully and understanding each client’s needs so that his advice is appropriate for that time in the clients’ journey. Scott also said like Doug he uses AI that’s built into his bank’s email system and also carefully checks each email before pressing send.

My use of AI differs from Doug and Scott. I am a clinical psychologist who is now a business coach and consultant. My coaching always blends my business experience with my clinical skills creating opportunities for the client to create changes in their behavior which over time can become new habits. Years before AI, I would take notes and then write my clients letters to reinforce the new behaviors the client had committed to do.
Now, in the process of coaching a client, I ask my clients permission to record all or part of a coaching conversation. I then carefully construct a prompt. With assistance from an IT expert, I have constructed a specialized version of ChatGPT to analyze coaching conversations that does not allow any data to be shared. I then very carefully edit what comes back for accuracy and clarity before sending it back to the client along with actions and commitments they have made before our next session. I also use AI as a research assistant as all of my leadership training and individual coaching is based on published science.
These are just three examples of how today AI is supporting but not replacing experienced professionals. There will always be a place for our experience and wisdom as we work with other people to express our empathy and deep understanding of the human experience.
Please contact me for complimentary, confidential conversations for anything you would like to change in your work or in your life: tom@corporateinnovation.com; 310-948-3722.
Tom Drucker MA Clinical Psychology UCLA , PhD Work at Anderson School of Business UCLA, is a founding partner of Consultants in Corporate Innovation, transforming leaders and teams plus improving processes in companies big and small. He is also a managing director at Janas Investment Bank. Learn more about him at www.corporate-innovation.com and janascorp.com.

​Rose was sent to me for coaching by the managing partner of an investment firm because a client had requested that Rose leave the deal team after a particularly contentious meeting. The business owner said Rose had not listened to him when he explained how he wanted his company presented to prospective buyers. 

When I met with Rose in my office, Rose claimed the business owner was stubborn and would not listen to what she had to say. I said I understood how owners who put their life’s work into a business needed an investment banker to have a particular set of listening tools to help them create a relationship that would help them have confidence that their deal team could represent them and their business brilliantly to prospective buyers. I reviewed with her 4 types of listening that will help anybody be effective having important conversations leading to valuable outcomes. 

• Reflective listening demonstrates empathy and understanding. The speaker feels heard which builds trust. 
  • It lowers any emotional tension because the speaker feels psychologically safe with the listener.
  • When you reflect back both the emotions and the meaning of what the speaker expressed, the speaker feels even more connected to the listener. 
  • This can deepen bonds which extend beyond this immediate conversation. 
• Curiosity-based listening. Curious questions signal genuine interest. 
  • Curiosity helps people feel respected and slows the pace of the conversation so people have time to think and feel relaxed.
  • This is particularly useful in high stakes conversations where one or both participants are anxious coming into the conversation.
• Listening for emotions before problem solving. Many conversations involve solving a problem. These conversations may involve two or perhaps several people.
  • Research shows that without dealing with the emotions first, problems will not be successfully resolved.
  • People who are anxious need emotional acknowledgment first before they engage in dialogue or can be receptive to advice.
• Listening for underlying needs.  Listening for needs first rather than a person’s position frequently reveals a common ground.
  • When a person feels that someone understands not just what they’re saying but what they’re needing, trust increases and tension tends to deescalate. 
  • If a participant is expressing strong emotions, it usually means they have an unmet need so asking questions like “What concerns you most?”, “What are you hoping for?”, or “What’s a good outcome for you?” will often reveal the person’s underlying need. 
  • This is much more productive than debating facts.

Rose was smiling as we finished discussing these four types of listening. She felt confident she could apologize to the business owner and demonstrate how she in fact did understand what made his business unique and together how they would collaborate in the marketing and positioning his business to prospective buyers. 

​I was asked to coach new manager Stephanie (not her real name). After a successful career as a salesperson, she had been promoted to manage one of many global sales teams selling AI enhanced CRM systems to Fortune 100 companies. ​

As a salesperson, Stephanie knew how to build trust plus she had the capacity to understand her customers’ needs and concerns. She also built relationships with the senior executives of each company she sold to. Consequently, her customers held her in great esteem. 
 
I first met with Stephanie one month after she had assumed her position. She had one on ones with each of her sales executives where she reminded them that sales reporting forms and procedures would remain the same. Stephanie shared with me she felt unsure of herself as a manager as several people on her team had more experience and were older than she was. 
 
I suggested there were several things Stephanie could do that would help her feel more confident while also helping her team members feel more engaged with each other and with Stephanie.
 
I asked Stephanie if she would be willing to work with me to create a list of principles and actions that would form the basis of her new team culture. This culture would be the foundation of her management and leadership. She could go forward in developing individual relationships with each of her team members. Stephanie would also have the clarity to create agendas, conduct team meetings, deal with mistakes, inspire excellent performance and most importantly exceed the sales targets she has been given. She was excited at this idea, so we began. Based on research, here is what we came up with:
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• I believe in open and direct communication. I pledge to help us all create a culture that feels psychologically safe so that being truthful and keeping commitments become a natural way of working. Mistakes will happen. We all must learn from them and be gentle with each other. 
• Customers come first. We are here to understand their needs which may change as the sales cycle proceeds. Each corporation has many customers and it’s our job to get to know and be trusted by as many of these customers as possible. 
• Innovation and creativity is fun and I want it to be part of everyone’s job and I believe it is essential for our team’s success. New ideas will be an agenda item on each of our team meetings. Our ideas will be forwarded to our research and development division. I will ensure we get feedback from them so we can learn and continue to be inspired because I know creativity is contagious.
• I believe in professional growth and development. This is in addition to the sales meetings I know we will attend. In our next one on one meeting, I want to talk about you and your growth and development as a professional. Perhaps you want a job like mine or a job in the home office. Let’s talk about your future and the steps necessary because I want to help you achieve what you want.
• I want us to get to know each other better. When I was asked to take this job, I asked for budget to host an in-person meeting where we would do some work, meet with some corporate staff, and get to know each other as people. Over the next couple months, we’ll work out timing because I know many of you have families and I want everyone to be able to comfortably come together with as little stress as possible.

Stephanie called me a month later. She sounded much more confident. She told me her team responded extremely well to her plans. New sales leads had picked up. Team members had already begun to schedule one-on-one meetings, and they were eager discuss developmental action plans. 
 
Building a culture of performance is a bit like being fitted for a custom-made suit. Every team, company, or organization, just like every person, is unique. They all require different guiding principles, yet there may be some deeper common wisdom. All people at work want to feel safe, respected, listened to, and given opportunities to succeed and grow.