Creating Safe Spaces: A Blueprint for Clinical Team Leaders in Healthcare (#014)
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[00:00:00] And that's where we look at the work of people like Stephen Porges, Dr. Stephen Porges, of course, with polyvagal theory and polyvagal safety, Dan Siegel, and the window of tolerance, where we start to look at what's going on inside of our nervous system, inside of our neurobiology, so that we not just try to fix it or get past it, but rather Slow down to the speed of our presence so that we can listen to what's there.
[00:00:27] Welcome to Safe Space Made Simple, a practical podcast that guides clinical leaders and healthcare managers to create trust and support with their teams. I'm your host, Trace Hobson. Join me for weekly interviews, practical tools, and inspiring transformational stories of bringing people together in healthcare.
[00:00:46] Now let's dive in. Hi everybody and welcome to this special edition of safe space made simple. Today we're going to talk about the safe space container and what this is, is a very [00:01:00] simple and yet powerful way to open up a conversation with people that you're working with. that might not be very connected right now.
[00:01:08] One of the things that I'm noticing in healthcare leadership and management and, and practice as well is that we've got these big dots that are in the organization that are separated by these large gaps. On the front line, we have all of the professionals, the practitioners, the, the bedside, um, intelligence that's there serving people.
[00:01:28] And then you've got before that, the clinical leaders, the, the patient care coordinators, the nurse educators, the specialists that are supporting that front line. Well, there's a gap between them oftentimes and a struggle to fill that gap or to close it. And then of course, between the clinical leadership team, you've got the managers and leaders that are in the boardroom and trying to strategize and meet the provincial needs and compliance issues.
[00:01:55] And really are, there's a huge gap there as well between the clinical leaders in there. Now we could go [00:02:00] further. Back out to the executive directors in the sea level and, and the ministry as well. But let's just stay with those three dots because I think that if we can begin to close those dots in and of themselves and build the relational equity that's needed in order for us to navigate the really complex and complicated.
[00:02:18] healthcare system that we have today that will be making some big strides forward in very practical ways. And so one of the ways that I work with that we do this, or that I do this, is by starting with a safe space container. This is a facilitated space that's done online or in person where we answer three fundamental questions together.
[00:02:39] The first question is, what is it that I need to feel safe? The second question is, what do I need to be open and learn? And the third question is, what do I need to feel respected? Now, these questions in and of themselves aren't groundbreaking. They're, they're really simple, powerful questions. What becomes groundbreaking [00:03:00] is the creation of a space that's facilitated for all the voices to be heard and for us to get to a place where we have Unanimous agreement on what we need in each of those categories, and that's exactly what the safe space container does.
[00:03:15] So as you look at this, facilitating this kind of a space means bringing people together to answer that first fundamental question, but underneath the answers and underneath the facilitation is the observation of some systemic elements that are there as well. There's resistance. There's this idea of frustration.
[00:03:36] fear, anxiety, anger, all of these undercurrents systemically that are happening all the time that we need to pay attention to as well. And so in facilitating a space like that, there's some very fundamental things that you can do to be able to start that process. Once you get everybody in the room, then it's flip chart paper and post it notes.
[00:03:59] And it's [00:04:00] about somatic exercises that began to answer this first fundamental question. What do I need to feel safe? What do we need to feel safe? And not just, you know, top down safety, which is psychological health and safety that we, you know, we have a Canadian standard for psychological health and safety and 13 psychosocial factors that are now probably going to add a couple of more and already have added a couple of more for healthcare.
[00:04:26] And so as you look at that, that's top down safety. And that's very important. But then we have neurobiological safety or bottom up safety. And that's where we look at the work of people like Stephen Porges, Dr. Stephen Porges, of course, with polyvagal theory and polyvagal safety, Dan Siegel, and the window of tolerance, where we start to look at what's going on inside of our nervous system, inside of our neurobiology so that we not just try to fix it or get past it, but rather.
[00:04:56] Slow down to the speed of our presence so that we can [00:05:00] listen to what's there. Now when we answer this question, we answer it in single word answers in the facilitation because we don't want a whole story, we want to get to the essence. And so we bullet point it with single word answers to brainstorm together and put on the sheet what it is that everybody has to say.
[00:05:20] And everybody shares and has a voice to be able to offer what it is that they're needing to feel safe, both top down and bottom up. All of that goes on the flip chart paper. And then we go through a process of deciding whether we agree or not unanimously to that. Once we have agreement, we move to the next part.
[00:05:42] And the next question is, what do I need to be open and learn now? In, in much of organizational development, we know that learning organizations, of course, are the, the cutting edge of what we need to have to for innovation, collaboration, creativity, and all that's true. [00:06:00] Underneath that in a very simple way, though, too, I, I was that kid in high school when in grade eight, the teacher would ask, you know, in math class, does anybody not understand what I just explained?
[00:06:10] And I was never the kid to put his hand in the air because I didn't feel safe to do that. And so one of the things that is important in a learning environment for me is that it's okay to ask any question and that no questions are quote dumb and quote they're they're actually just curiosities and questions and I may not understand.
[00:06:30] So I need to be able to ask, well, what is it that you need to be open and learn? Some people might need acceptance. Other people might need space and time. So what is it that you need to be open and learn? And that's the second facilitation question that we go through. And again, that's answered in one word answers in bullet points so that we can collaborate, brainstorm, put them all on the sheet.
[00:06:52] And then we go through a process of deciding. Unanimously, do, do we agree or not with these and do we have [00:07:00] agreement on everything that's on this sheet? And once we have that, we move to the last question, which is what is it that I need to feel respected? Now, this is a very important question because what I view respect as and what I need might be very different than what you need.
[00:07:15] And so I need to understand if I want to. team where people feel psychologically healthy and safe, neurobiologically safe, I also need a place where that's expressed through respect. And so what do I need for respect? What do I need to feel that way? And what do others need to feel that way? Especially as we look at the diversity that we have in our world, there's so many different perspectives, there's so many different backgrounds.
[00:07:40] As I look at that, because of the cultural ideas coming from different places, I need to understand what you need to feel respected. And I'm hoping that you'll understand what I need to feel respected. And so we go through a process of answering that question with bullet points as well. And that goes on the sheet.
[00:07:56] Once we have those sheets covered, then there's a specific [00:08:00] process we go through to finalize that and agree together. And we have at that point, a safe space container. Once we have that container, then we can begin to do the work that the team is ready to do next. That was a very quick introduction to what is normally a three to eight hour session on the SafeSpace container.
[00:08:21] Now, if you enjoyed that, please share that with some of your colleagues as well, if that made sense to you. If you have any questions, also you can reach out to me and ask any questions that you have. And thank you again so much for being here with us in this podcast. I look forward to meeting you either online or in person, but until then, remember to be a safe space.
[00:08:43] Thank you again for getting to the end of this podcast. And if you enjoyed this and you found that there was value in it for you, my invitation is for you to subscribe for future episodes that come out weekly on Tuesdays. Thank you again, and I'm looking forward to being with you next [00:09:00] time. Now remember to be a safe space.
