Companies invest heavily in wellness apps and tools, but engagement is low because there's no culture of psychological safety. Fringe's CEO Jordan Peace argues he would trade his entire HR tech platform for a leader who is vulnerable about their own struggles, as this normalizes mental health and builds true cultural change from the top.
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Daring leadership isn't measured by how much personal information you disclose. It's the learnable capacity to remain present and effective during moments of uncertainty, risk, and emotional exposure. Some of the most vulnerable leaders share very little personally.
Innovation requires psychological safety. When employees are afraid to speak up or make mistakes, they become "armored" and growth stagnates. To unlock potential, leaders must create environments where the joy of creation and contribution outweighs the fear of failure.
To combat complacency, Supercell's CEO opened an all-hands meeting by showing an animated slide of their declining global ranking year-by-year. This act of transparent and painful self-critique from the top created the psychological safety and urgency needed to rally the team around a new strategy.
Innovation is stifled when team members, especially junior ones, don't feel safe to contribute. Without psychological safety, potentially industry-defining ideas are never voiced for fear of judgment. This makes it a critical business issue, not just a 'soft' HR concept.
Creating an environment where people feel safe to speak up requires more than just asking for it. Leaders must actively model the desired behavior. This includes admitting their own mistakes, asking questions they worry might be "dumb," and framing their own actions as experiments to show that learning and failure are acceptable.
To create a truly safe culture, leaders must demonstrate vulnerability first. By proactively sharing personal struggles—like being a recovering alcoholic or having gone through trauma therapy—during the interview process, leaders signal from day one that mental health is a priority and that it's safe for employees to be open about their own challenges.
Leaders often try to project an image of perfection, but genuine connection and trust are built on authenticity and vulnerability. Sharing your "brokenness"—insecurities or past struggles—is more powerful than listing accolades, as it creates psychological safety and allows others to connect with you on a human level.
Senior leaders, like managing partners and CEOs, often carry significant burdens they cannot share with their teams or even their families. This creates a profound sense of isolation, highlighting the need for a trusted, confidential advisor.
