One of the 3 pillars of the PCSJ is Dialogue.
As stated on our platform:
Dialogue: We also want to help answer the question: how do we navigate tense conversations when we don’t all agree and still move forward in unity? We want to build tolerance from a Hispanic/Latino/Latinx perspective, even as we address feelings of resentment and resist the temptation to disengage from those who view things differently.
How are we creating the Brave spaces within our organizations to respond to the current climate?
In the past few weeks, we have witnessed a surge of violence and hate crimes, from Uvalde Texas, to Buffalo to California, Houston, Chicago and Ohio. We have learned about the “replacement theory,” we have seen the court wrestle with reproductive rights.
Thousands of lives have been lost in the war in Ukraine and we currently face a refugee crisis.
In addition, we were faced with the reality that l million people have died from COVID and the pandemic lingers on as many are still contracting the virus and are forced to quarantine.
This is the world we live in and for many of us, this is the world we are rising our children in.
With that said, we see an opportunity for the work place to provide a kind of sanctuary in a way that it has not before. Creating an organizational culture in which Brave Spaces of dialogue are built into the fabric of the organization. A place where colleagues can dialogue about the impact of socio-political trauma while also gaining tools for self-care and ultimately, shifting the organizational culture to one of enhanced psychological safety and inclusion.
The Business Case for Psychological Safety.
Teams with strong psychological safety are less afraid of the negative consequences that may result from taking risks, making mistakes, and sharing their candid opinions with one another.
Teams that feel empowered to share their perspectives with each other, especially when their opinions differ from the rest of the group, are more innovative and deliver better solutions.
In addition, psychological safety is a key component of diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. Diverse opinions, experiences, and knowledge can be better leveraged if team members feel comfortable speaking up and considering alternate viewpoints. Psychological safety in any work environment is a critical factor to building a high performing culture.
Action Steps
Let’s lean into this moment in ways that may initially feel uncomfortable but ultimately leads to better outcomes for ourselves, our teams, clients and collaborators. We recommend setting up time on the calendar to dialogue with all members of an organization, making time on the meeting agenda to “check in” before moving to today’s business, designate days on your calendars to spend time with your teams from a heart space. We choose Dialogue as one of our pillars because we know the benefits of sharing Brave spaces, of talking and processing and moving to collective action and ultimately psychological safety.
Contributing Authors
Dr. Laura Quiros
Associate Professor of Social Work, Adelphi University, Founding Member of the PCSJ Advisory Board
Richard Lopez
Director, Global Diversity & Inclusion, at Dell, Founding Member of the PCSJ Advisory Board