Creating Inclusive Workplaces: Minette Norman’s Insights on Psychological Safety

My guest for Episode #284 of the My Favorite Mistake podcast is Minette Norman, an author, speaker, and leadership consultant who previously spent decades leading global technical teams in the software industry.  EPISODE PAGE WITH VIDEO, TRANSCRIPT, AND MORE Minette has extensive experience leading internationally distributed teams and believes that when groups embrace diversity in all its forms, breakthroughs emerge, and innovation accelerates.  Her most recent position before starting her consultancy was as Vice President of Engineering Practice at Autodesk. Minette is a keynote speaker on inclusive leadership, psychological safety, collaborative teams, and empathy. She was named in 2017 as one of the “Most Influential Women in Bay Area Business” by the?San Francisco Business Times and as “Business Role Model of the Year” in the 2018 Women in IT/Silicon Valley Awards.  In this episode, the conversation covers the critical importance of psychological safety and inclusive leadership in the workplace. Minette shares stories from her tech career, highlighting the challenges of navigating power dynamics, cultural differences, and the role of empathy in leadership. She emphasizes the need for leaders to create environments where individuals feel safe to speak up, make mistakes, and share diverse perspectives without fear of retribution. Minette is the author of The Boldly Inclusive Leader and co-author of The Psychological Safety Playbook. The discussion also touches on the common misunderstandings about psychological safety, such as confusing it with comfort, and explores practical ways leaders can foster a culture of openness and accountability while maintaining high performance and innovation. Questions and Topics: What is your favorite mistake, and what did you learn from it? How did your mentee’s situation change your perspective on leadership? Did you consider legal action when you faced bullying and had to leave tech? How do you define psychological safety, and why is it so important? Can you have too much psychological safety? How can leaders assess and improve psychological safety within their teams? What role do leaders play in fostering a culture where it’s safe to admit mistakes? How do demographic differences impact experiences of psychological safety? How universal are the concepts of psychological safety and inclusion across cultures? What advice do you have for leaders hesitant to admit their own mistakes?