The impact of being intentional

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“When I give advice to my partners as part of my role, I now aim to be more collaborative in my communication.

Previously, I would share some advice, then go straight ahead and hit them again with more advice right away.

Now I give people space to think, and watch for their responses. If I can see from their reaction that they are triggered or resistant, I change my phrasing to help them think differently.”

"We are going through a large scale culture change at work and several department heads are pre-emptively very triggered in meetings. I have used the Be SAFE & Certain model to reflect on people's reactions and I have recognised that their reactions may be caused by status threats.

This has helped me to adapt how I care for people in meetings to avoid creating ongoing status triggers. This has worked well and I have found that leaders who were previously very triggered are now more open and relaxed in response to emails and in person conversations. It has also helped that I have stopped scheduling any meetings in the afternoon when everyone is more easily triggered and will find it harder to make clear decisions."

“I am never stressed by tight deadlines but I’ve had feedback that my last minute working impacts others negatively. Previously I would have ignored this feedback, as I prefer my own working methods and thought it was OK as long as we hit the deadline.

Once I became aware of Be SAFE & Certain and how my preferences and assumptions can trigger others, I am now more collaborative in my approach. I check with team-mates what their preferences are for timelines and adapt to the team’s needs. I found that this has prevented triggers and frustrations when working to deadlines.”