The highest performing teams are the most human.
We help leaders and teams build psychological safety.
"Might be a lifelong impact for me. It helped me feel in the moment, learn how to stay present, and let go of what I can't control."
-Oliver Sicat, CEO at Ednovate
“This had deep impact - as much in the body as in the mind. I think this training can be transformative for white leaders in disrupting our culturally reinforced dysfunctions.”
-Noah Bradley, Chief Academic Officer - Education for Change
“This was the best development I’ve ever experienced.”
-Felicia Crump, Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer - DREAM
Why does psychological safety matter so much?
Upcoming Intensives
Session Date Options:
Sept 25-27, 2024
Nov 18-20, 2024
A 3-day intensive simulation designed for leaders to disrupt the habits and thought patterns that are causing distress and limiting impact.
Intensives are even more powerful when a team goes through one together. Team Intensives build psychological safety within teams by creating a space for team members to humanize each other, deeply connect, and build their capacity to be truly honest - all within a safe, supportive and creative space.
Click Here to Learn More | Contact Us to Discuss an Intensive for Your Team
The Authentic Leaders Team
Together, we’ve helped hundreds of leaders and teams grow by tapping into their humanity and forming the conditions for true connection and growth.
Latest Blog Posts
Is a good leader “emotional?”
Depends on how you define “emotional.” A lot of us probably imagine the leader who ACTS on their emotions - without actually saying them. For example, picture the leader that raises their voice in anger, or withdraws into a sulk after being criticized in the meeting. Acting on emotion without being honest about what you’re feeling damages psychological safety and creates an enormous distraction for the team. Everybody knows what the leader is feeling but no one is actually saying it. So everyone just dances around it, and the leader's emotions end up taking the attention of the team in an unproductive way.
So acting on emotion without actually sharing the emotion = not good.
Your body, your heart, and your head are all keeping score. Which scoreboard are you paying attention to? We have three intelligence centers. First, our body is constantly speaking to us through gut feelings, tension that we hold in our muscles, cortisol responses, etc. Second, our heart gives every experience an emotional quality that tells us something important - whether we’re aware of it or not. And finally, our head is giving us all kinds of thoughts, ideas, and analysis about what we’re experiencing. All of them guide us. All of them keep score. But at least within my leadership, I was conditioned to focus on the scoreboard in my head.
“Imposter syndrome” is the chronic self-doubt that - despite external evidence to the contrary - you are not fit to be “the leader.” Many people experience this as a nagging anxiety that there is just something about them that is somehow not fit for a certain position or level of leadership. But I wanted to shine light on the opposite problem: what I’ll call “leader syndrome.” And leader syndrome is the feeling or belief that there is something about me that makes me inherently fit to be a “leader.” While it’s likely to be read as confidence, I think it’s the flip side of the “imposter syndrome” coin, and problematic for its own reasons.