The Well-led Podcast

What does it take to make work safer for people? In this lesson for effectiveness, Kate Johnson closes the month’s discussion of safety with three lessons drawn from conversations with Stephanie Lemek, Dr. Benjamin Ritter, and Jessica Donahue. She considers physical, financial, and psychological safety, then offers a practical method leaders can use: name what a job or assignment requires, and make the employee’s available choices equally clear.  The latest companion toolkit is available now. Request your copy at https://www.one23ltd.com/toolkits Subscribers receive the monthly toolkit automatically, along with updates on new episodes, resources, and upcoming offerings from onetwentythree ltd.  Key takeaways Safety is a condition that allows people to do their best work. Physical, financial, and psychological safety respond to human frailty, material needs, and human error. Employees learn whether work is safe from a leader’s actions, especially when something goes wrong. Leaders can acknowledge uncertainty and mistakes without giving up competence or accountability. Leaders cannot guarantee safety, but they can tell the truth, set boundaries, and make room for choice. Clear requirements and visible freedom help people work with confidence. Timestamps 00:01 — Safety as a leadership responsibility 05:18 — Three lessons about safety at work 10:50 — Making choice visible in everyday work Keywords workplace safety, physical safety, financial safety, psychological safety, leadership responsibility, employee choice, self-leadership, trauma-informed leadership, clear expectations, accountability

Safety is not simply a workplace benefit. It is a pre-existing condition that makes authenticity, creativity, critical thinking, and strong performance possible. In this episode, Kate Johnson talks with Jessica Donahue, founder of Adjunct Leadership Consulting, about what physical, financial, and psychological safety look like at work—and why all three are under pressure. Drawing on Jessica’s experience as a trauma-informed workplace leader, they explore how past experiences shape present-day responses to uncertainty, organizational change, and the loss of choice. They also examine why authenticity should never require complete exposure, how autonomy helps people regulate their nervous systems, and why leaders must model the candor they expect from others. The conversation offers practical ways to foster safety, including setting clear boundaries, explaining business decisions, acknowledging what you do not know, responding constructively to mistakes, advocating for employees’ financial needs, and planning support for managers responsible for delivering difficult news. Listen for a thoughtful conversation about creating workplaces where people can learn, contribute, and do their best work without being asked to perform vulnerability or pretend that uncertainty does not affect them. The latest companion toolkit is available now. Request your copy at https://www.one23ltd.com/toolkits Subscribers receive the monthly toolkit automatically, along with updates on new episodes, resources, and upcoming offerings from onetwentythree ltd.  Key takeaways Safety is a pre-existing condition for authenticity, creativity, critical thinking, and effective performance. Workplace safety includes physical, financial, and psychological safety. These forms are interconnected rather than separate. Authenticity does not require complete visibility or vulnerability. Being reserved can also be authentic. Leaders should not require employees to perform authenticity, vulnerability, or risk-taking to prove that they belong. When people feel threatened, their nervous systems make it more difficult to think critically, solve problems, and do their best work. Choice and autonomy can help restore a sense of control, particularly for people whose previous experiences involved having choices taken away. Leaders should distinguish clearly between the choices employees can make and the responsibilities that are part of their roles. Psychological safety grows when leaders admit mistakes, acknowledge what they do not know, and respond to problems without shame or punishment. Leaders should not make promises they cannot keep during uncertain circumstances. Honest limits are more trustworthy than false reassurance. Managers can support financial safety by understanding compensation systems, building relationships with decision-makers, and presenting credible business cases for their employees. Timestamps 00:00 Meet Jessica Donahue 01:10 A trauma-informed approach to work 02:23 Safety as a leadership skill 06:19 Authenticity can include holding back 11:40 Three forms of workplace safety 13:22 Why workplace safety is under pressure 21:21 Safety, stress, and performance 30:27 Restoring safety through choice 40:41 How leaders model psychological safety 50:33 Advocating for financial safety Keywords workplace safety, psychological safety, trauma-informed leadership, employee well-being, leadership transparency, workplace autonomy, financial safety, nervous system regulation, authentic leadership, organizational trust

What makes it possible for someone to admit a mistake at work? In this Other Voices episode of The Well-Led Podcast, Stephanie Lemek and Dr. Benjamin Ritter explore how psychological safety shapes the employee experience. Stephanie explains why leaders create safety by acknowledging their own mistakes, uncertainty, and imperfection. Benjamin considers the relationship between a supportive environment and the responsibility each person holds for exercising self-leadership. Together, their reflections show that psychological safety is more than avoiding conflict or telling people it is okay to fail. It allows people to speak candidly, take risks, ask questions, learn, contribute ideas, and work toward shared goals. You’ll learn: How physical, financial, and psychological safety affect employees Why leaders need to demonstrate—not merely declare—that mistakes are acceptable How psychologically unsafe cultures impose an extra tax on productive work Why safety supports creativity, learning, and collaboration How self-leadership can help people recognize and use the choices within their control If you would like practical tools that accompany conversations like this one, you can request the current free leadership toolkit at https://www.one23ltd.com/toolkits Subscribers to the onetwentythree ltd newsletter receive these resources automatically each month. Guest Information, listed alphabetically Stephanie Lemek is the Founder & CEO of The Wounded Workforce®, a consultancy reshaping how employers approach mental health, trauma, and resilience at work. She is also the Founder and Executive Director of The Wounded Workforce's Center for Construction Mental Health™. Stephanie is a nationally recognized speaker and trusted advisor on trauma-informed leadership, bringing together research, practical strategy, and deep organizational insight to help leaders, HR, and frontline teams move from well-meaning to well-equipped. Stephanie Lemek, SPHR, MBA, CTSS, TIWP - Helping Organizations and Leaders Address Mental Health at Work | Founder & CEO @ The Wounded Workforce® | Building Trauma Informed Workplaces | Culture, Talent, & HR Expert | Coach | LinkedIn  The Wounded Workforce  The Wounded Workforce | LinkedIn  The Wounded Workforce's Center for Construction Mental Health™ The Wounded Workforce's Center for Construction Mental Health | LinkedIn  Dr. Benjamin Ritter is an executive leadership coach and keynote speaker based in Austin, Texas. For more than 15 years he has coached senior leaders at companies including Amazon, Google, DoorDash, Mayo Clinic, Pinterest, Coursera, Northwestern, and the CDC, along with next-generation leaders inside family-owned operating companies. He is the author of the Amazon best-seller Becoming Fearless, and The Uncrowned CEO, founder of Live for Yourself Consulting, and host of The Executive and Live Fearlessly podcasts. Dr. Benjamin Ritter - Executive Coach for CEOs, Founders & Next-Gen Family Business Leaders | You got the seat. Now make it yours. | Best-Selling Author, Becoming Fearless | ICF PCC | LinkedIn  Live for Yourself Consulting  Dr. Benjamin Ritter Key takeaways Safety is foundational. When people do not feel safe, it becomes difficult to direct their attention and energy toward anything else. Workplace safety includes physical, financial, and psychological conditions. Each influences whether employees can work, grow, and contribute fully. Leaders create psychological safety before someone needs it. Their everyday responses to mistakes, uncertainty, and imperfection establish what is genuinely acceptable. A lack of psychological safety drains energy from productive work. Employees spend time managing perceptions, rehearsing conversations, withholding questions, and navigating workplace politics. Leaders influence safety, but individuals retain some agency. Self-leadership can help employees move from blame toward clarity, responsibility, and constructive action. Timestamps 00:05 Safety as a leadership skill 01:52 Stephanie on three forms of safety 10:59 Benjamin on safety and self-leadership 16:28 Closing reflections and resources Keywords psychological safety at work, safety in leadership, how leaders create psychological safety, admitting mistakes at work, workplace culture, leadership vulnerability, employee trust, physical safety, financial safety, self-leadership, personal responsibility, employee engagement, workplace burnout, creativity at work, authentic leadership

What does workplace safety mean beyond preventing physical harm?  In this episode of The Well-Led Podcast, Kate Johnson examines safety as a leadership skill—and as the condition that allows authenticity and creativity to flourish at work. We explore three forms of safety that human leaders must consider: physical safety, financial safety, and psychological safety. Kate connects each one to a practical leadership responsibility, from recognizing hazards and understanding compensation practices to responding constructively when mistakes happen. You’ll learn: Why safety involves both avoiding harm and protecting people from harm How physical safety acknowledges human frailty Why financial safety begins with understanding compensation and employee hardship resources How leaders create psychological safety through their responses to ideas, concerns, and mistakes Why authenticity and creativity depend on safety already being present Practical actions leaders can take to better protect their teams If you would like practical tools that accompany conversations like this one, you can request the current free leadership toolkit at https://www.one23ltd.com/toolkits Subscribers to the onetwentythree ltd newsletter receive these resources automatically each month. Key Takeaways Safety is not limited to policies that prevent physical injury. Leadership safety also includes employees’ financial security and their freedom to speak, question, experiment, and make mistakes. Physical safety requires leaders to recognize risk, understand human frailty, and take action to prevent or mitigate harm. Financial safety begins with acknowledging that employees’ basic material needs depend largely on the money they earn at work. Psychological safety is shaped by how leaders respond when employees offer ideas, raise concerns, or make mistakes. Authenticity and creativity cannot flourish without protection. Safety is the pre-existing condition that makes both possible. Human leaders address the consequences of mistakes without diminishing another person’s intrinsic worth. Leaders become champions of authenticity and creativity when they welcome employees’ attempts and failures with the same enthusiasm as their successes. Timestamps 00:03 Choosing grace through safety 00:54 Defining workplace safety 02:33 Safety as protection from harm 04:31 Physical safety and human frailty 04:53 Financial safety and basic needs 05:32 Psychological safety and human error 06:49 Why authenticity and creativity require safety 08:15 Practical actions for physical safety 09:06 Learning about financial protections 09:53 Responding constructively to mistakes Keywords workplace safety, leadership safety, human leadership, physical safety, financial safety, psychological safety, choosing grace, authenticity at work, creativity at work, employee protection, psychological safety at work, leadership skills, workplace hazards, compensation practices, employee hardship, responding to mistakes, human error, team trust, Amy Edmondson, leading well

The Well-led Podcast is on a break! Enjoy this replay as a means of refreshing and staying grounded in the work of human leadership. Clarity is one of the most practical leadership skills because it turns ideas into action. In this episode, Kate Johnson explores why clarity is the starting point for supporting employees and enabling performance. She explains how leaders create clarity in three key areas—purpose, communication, and relationships—and how doing so helps teams understand priorities, connect to their work, and move forward with confidence. The latest companion toolkit is available to request at https://www.one23ltd.com/toolkits and subscribers receive new resources automatically each month via the one23ltd newsletter. Key takeaways Clarity is the “mother skill” that allows other leadership skills to function effectively. Leadership development begins with care, but supporting performance requires practical clarity. Leaders must make purpose visible and actionable—not just talk about it conceptually. A simple question can unlock clarity of purpose: What is the purpose of what? Leaders need clarity about their own role, their organization’s mission, and their team’s contribution. Clear communication requires internal consistency between words, values, and actions. Employees experience communication as trustworthy when it is straightforward and reliable. Many workplace engagement issues trace back to a lack of clarity from leadership. Relationship clarity includes boundaries, connections, and organizational channels. When leaders illuminate purpose, communication, and relationships, they create the conditions for team success. Timestamps [0:00:02] – Introduction of clarity as the “mother skill” in leadership. [0:00:46] – Link between vulnerability (care) and clarity (support); preview of accountability and feedback. [0:01:53] – Identification of the podcast: “This is the Well Led Podcast, and I’m your host, Kate Johnson.” [0:02:21] – Etymology: clarity / claritas = brightness, metaphor of a leader “turning on a light.” [0:03:29] – Introduction of clarity of purpose and the question: “the purpose of what?” [0:05:15] – Practical exercise: three questions to clarify leader, company, and team purpose. [0:06:14] – Shift to clarity of communication and the two kinds of consistency (internal and experienced). [0:10:09] – Introduction of clarity of relationships (boundaries, connections, channels). Keywords leadership clarity, clarity in leadership, leadership communication, leadership purpose, employee engagement, leadership transparency, organizational communication, leadership effectiveness, workplace relationships, leadership development