Safe Spaces
Last Saturday, we had the pleasure of freezing our butts off at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa to cheer for our Iowa Hawkeyes in their annual gridiron battle with the Wisconsin Badgers. Oddly, the only one in our group who seemed unaffected by the cold was my dear wife Linda. Her secret was to don a heated vest under her obligatory Hawkeye garb. Lesson learned—heated vests for everyone next time as hot chocolate and hand warmers just don’t cut it…
If you’ve never been to a football game at Kinnick Stadium, it’s one of the most iconic sports venues in the country. The atmosphere both inside and outside the stadium is electric and inviting for both visitors and the home team. Yes, there’s friendly ribbing back and forth between the spectators as well as the infamous “pink locker room” for the visiting team, but it’s all in good, spirited fun. I’ve been to other sporting venues around the country as a visitor, and have felt uncomfortable and sometimes even threatened by the fans of the home team.
The point of today’s muse is to highlight the balancing act we all play between embracing diversity and supporting the tribes that we naturally gravitate toward. It’s important that we consciously consider how to create the safe spaces that are necessary to balance these two forces. While it’s instinctive to be drawn toward groups of like-minded humans, it’s also dangerous to get caught in an echo chamber that leads to the dehumanization of “the other side.” History has taught us time and again what happens when we dehumanize populations that we disagree with and the results aren’t pretty.
Colleges and universities have been leading the way in helping to create safe spaces for diverse populations to gather and feel seen/heard while simultaneously embracing the benefits of the various “tribes” that make up their broader community.
Businesses need to be more mindful of this balancing act as we march into the future. Without purposeful care and attention, teams splinter into silos that promote internal competition and prevent the information sharing that’s necessary to encourage collaboration. Silos and affinity groups will always exist within your business—especially as it scales and grows. However, it’s essential to create an environment where silos fulfill their purpose of necessary specialization but don’t become fiefdoms ruled by minor nobles who promote idiosyncratic ways of working and unproductive subcultures.
As a leader, how do you create this best-of-both-worlds atmosphere? Start by defining and continuously reinforcing your business’s purpose, vision, and aspirational culture (values and behaviors). When the entire business rally’s around a clearly defined shared purpose, working together becomes more natural. When everyone knows what everyone else is doing, organizational flow is enhanced. With transparency and flow, accountability is improved and organizational trust builds.
It’s this last bit that’s key—your people have to believe that safe places exist within your business and trust is the foundation for all safe places. If your people are constantly looking over their shoulders because everyone is wading through the mud of obfuscation, trust is impossible to foster and psychological safety will be nowhere to be found.
So here’s to creating more safe spaces where diversity and tribalism can peacefully coexist to yield better outcomes for the human race—whether it’s at a football game, at school, or at work.
