Fostering Psychological Safety

Posted on by Brendan

I was part of an internal leadership round table where part of the prep was this video and the discussion was around psychological safety. I first learned about this topic about 8 years ago at Wayfair where someone at the company took initiative to shepherd the philosophy throughout the department. 

I remember being really excited and interested in the idea of it. Which I believe in part because I related to both sides. The feelings when physiological safety is or isn’t present. I’ve felt both in my career. I was also part of both strong and weak sports growing up. I am always thinking of how to foster strong teams. 

The round table was awesome because I got a ton of tactical ideas that other leaders do to help foster psychological safety. One thing that stuck out to me is you need to try many things to help foster this and get feedback on what you try. Once you hit a healthy working state physiological safety balanced with accountability, it will feel like magic because it builds the trust needed for strong, fluid working relationships. Feedback will flow back and forth smoothly.

Chisel Away at a Deadline

Posted on by Brendan

I have a deadline this week. I am trying to approach it with a different perspective this time around. Deadlines are generally a good thing. The deadline is helpful to force the creation of what needs to get done. The process from start to finish can be a lot of fun filled with growth and learning. 

Yesterday, I was outlining the deliverable and getting comfortable with the structure. It is a mix of writing and data pulling. Today, I plan to do a little of both to chisel away at this deadline. Each day, I’ll list out a few things to tackle in order to get closer to completion, do those things, and then do it over again the next day. A little chiseling each day and the final product is created.

Lessons from Creating an Exercise Habit

Posted on by Brendan

In 2023, I successfully created an exercise habit that is now ingrained in me. I believe some of the lessons I learned from this experience are applicable to building good habits for anyone trying to reach their goals whether it be fitness or something else. 

At the end of 2022, I got a Fitbit for Christmas and programmed a goal of 5 days of exercise per week. I ended up hitting 7 days most of the 52 weeks. I only didn’t exercise 26/365 days. I didn’t miss a workout day in June, August, and December. I did this on top of having my second kid during the month of April. 

I really surprised myself with this. I have always loved exercise but have never been this consistent in my life until now. A few changes in mindset or actions really helped achieve this:

  • I kept the bar low with the aim of 10 to 20 minutes a day. I sometimes did more but as long as I hit 10 mins, that was enough. 10 min jog, 10 min bike, 10 min foam roll, etc. The bar was low and still is. 
  • Keeping the bar low also simplified the activity in my mind so it wasn’t such an ordeal. When I was crossfitting a lot, I made workouts an ordeal. I needed at least 1.5 hours to get the workout done. Now, I just started moving my body if I only have 15 minutes which lessened the mental burden of making it happen. 
  • Lastly, I removed friction by laying workout clothes out the night before or just wearing whatever I had on. I made it really easy to change into workout clothes. 

That’s pretty much it. I never read the book but this experience made me think of Atomic Habits which I’ve talked about with a lot of people over the years. 

I am applying these lessons to 3 things so far in 2024 (1) nutrition (2) writing on this blog (3) personal finances. We’ll see how it goes!

Weekend Listen

Posted on by Brendan

I ended up listening to this podcast twice this week during my commute to work and while doing dishes at night.

It is definitely packed with information about AI and listening to it again helped connect a few more dots.

Hope you enjoy as much as I did.

Bring Your Kid to Work Day

Posted on by Brendan

I never knew that bringing a kid to work day was a national holiday until yesterday. Last year when my son was 2, I wanted to participate but our second child came a few days before. This year, I saw it on the calendar 2 weeks out, and knew I wanted to make sure we participated. As the date got closer, I let my son know he would be coming into work with me after school on Thursday. Like I always do for special events, I try to let him know a few days in advance and then remind him a few times a day after that. 

The wild thing I didn’t anticipate was the excitement built each day that came closer. His excitement passed to me as, especially as we headed out to drive to the office. My wife dressed him in a similar outfit to me and he was chatting it up about going to work with his dad. 

We got there and he had a blast. He was a little timid at times but found things he loved, which were cars, the view of the Charles River from the kitchen where we were watching the boats, and the snacks. I was also proud to hear him answer popular questions from people I work with such as, what is your name? and how old are you? 

This also brought back a few memories I had of joining my dad at work. Often using office supplies, admiring views, and meeting others. 

In today’s world where the youth population is dealing with a mix of mental health challenges, I find a day like this truly powerful. It gets kids out of their school routine into a different but real world experience that opens their eyes to career possibilities and allows them to meet new people.

I hope my family can participate in this national holiday for years to come.