Maryanne Spatola, SPHR, PCC

One of the most critical aspects of team performance is establishing an environment of psychological safety. Your team must know that you have their best interests in mind, you have their back, and because of that, they are willing to trust you with these essential elements: 1) when things go wrong, and they will, they are willing to own their mistakes and come to you about them. 2) they are okay with asking for your help. 3) they own up to their gap areas and would like your guidance on how to close them. As leader, your ability and willingness to create vulnerability-based trust with the team matters.

Call it what you will, but ground rules, rules of engagement, and group alliances are all ways of setting group behavior expectations. This is a necessary step but often insufficient to ensure the goals of the meeting or group are met, and the power dynamics are held in check. Three crucial steps are often overlooked: 1) Gaining commitment from the group to honor and abide by the listed behaviors. 2) Naming behaviors that don't align with the list. 3) Check in with the group regarding the listed behaviors during the session. These three steps give the facilitator the space and opportunity to keep power dynamics at bay and allow for equity in decision-making, strategy setting, and more.

Your best defense is a good offense. Build your skills and experience by doing volunteer or pro bono work, or pick up a side hustle. This strategy also helps you develop a community of people who know what value you add and contributions you can make making more opportunities visible to you.

I encourage people to create a career portfolio filled with options. Chasing one job or one company can be a futile exercise. I invite them to consider three things: 1) Build a community of people who know your skills, capabilities, and experiences. Create meaningful connections with them so they think about you when an opportunity arrives. 2) Expand your capabilities by pushing around the edges of your strengths. Find adjacent areas to grow so you have more to offer. 3) Pursue multiple paths for success. You never know when the right opportunity will show itself. Pay attention to the things and people who are showing up in your life. The perfect opportunity might be in front of you but you don't see it because your focused on one thing.

A powerful tool facilitators can offer is that of observation and naming. Noticing what is said, and not said, is an important skill. Naming what is observed and inviting the group to do the same raises awareness and understanding. Then turn the conflict back to the group for further discussion.