In her appearance on The Business of Giving podcast, leadership expert Sally Helgesen unpacks the essentials for building inclusive workplaces. She emphasizes recognizing and handling ‘triggers’ which can create discord among diverse teams. Helgesen also sheds light on the importance of visibility and how perceptions of recognition need a constructive reframe. Moreover, she encourages individuals to embrace authenticity but cautions against letting it hinder growth. Crucially, she advocates for action-oriented approaches over mere thoughts to truly foster inclusivity, highlighting that it’s the tangible steps that count in making a workplace where everyone thrives.
Dr. Timothy Clark, a leading authority on psychological safety, redefines its role as a cornerstone of team success in modern organizations, going beyond the common misconceptions of it being a shield from accountability or a mandate to “be nice.” He underscores the concept as a vital intersection of respect and permission that fosters inclusive dialogue and innovation. By outlining the four stages of psychological safety—ranging from inclusion and learner safety, through contributor safety, to challenger safety—Clark illuminates how leaders can create a conducive environment for team members to learn, contribute, and ultimately challenge the status quo without fear. He emphasizes the vital role of leadership in modeling vulnerability, rewarding contributions, and fostering a collaborative approach to compensate for the changing dynamics of workplaces, including hybrid or virtual configurations. Clark concludes that creating and sustaining psychologically safe environments requires a deep understanding of human conditions and offers resources at leaderfactor.com for leaders embarking on this journey.
Today we’ll hear from members of the team at Fairfield County’sCommunity Foundation. Informed by three decades of partnering with and serving the Fairfield Connecticut community, they have awarded more than $390 million in grants to nonprofits.
The Clean Slate Initiative, under the leadership of CEO Sheena Meade, is transforming lives by helping individuals with past records break barriers to employment, housing, and education. This initiative, which started in Pennsylvania, is striving to make the process of clearing records automated, shifting the burden from individuals to the government. Through Meade’s personal experiences and passion, she emphasizes the importance of involving those directly impacted by the criminal justice system in reform efforts. With policies already changed in 12 states and a $75 million grant from the Audacious Project, the Clean Slate Initiative aims to expand nationwide, fostering a future where this reform is seen as common sense, and ultimately providing a second chance for millions.
Just when we most need our government to work, it is faltering. Government at all levels has limped into the digital age, offering online services that can feel even more cumbersome than the paperwork that preceded them, and widening the gap between the policy outcomes we intend and what we get.
Finding a solution to this challenge has been at the heart of Jennifer Pahlka’s work for the past 15 years. She founded Code for America in 2009, became Deputy Chief Technology Officer in the Obama administration in 2013, helped launch the US Digital Service, and was deeply involved in the effort to rescue healthcare.gov, among other things.
Now, she has written a fabulous and important book titled Recoding America: Why Government Is Failing in the Digital Age and How We Can Do Better.
