The Chief Empathy Officer & Psychological Safety

More than ever, leaders are expected to be supportive and empathic towards their teams. People are not machines and machines do not create as much value anymore as knowledge does. People need to be empowered and realise their personal potential and grow. Companies innovate through knowledge and technology. And psychological safety drives performance. Empathy is to be added to the repertoire of CEOs and leaders, therefore:

We need Chief Empathy Officers!
By Björn Schigt Leadership Organization Team dynamics May 21, 2020

-reading time: 2 minutes- / -audience: CEOs, leaders, HR professionals-

HOW CEOS PERCEIVE THEIR RESPONSIBILITY FOR ESTABLISHING PSYCHOLOGICAL SAFETY IN THE MANAGEMENT TEAM

Dissertation for the Master Spécialisé Consulting & Coaching for Change at HEC Paris & Saïd Business School/Oxford University, awarded with 86/100 points, the equivalent of an ECTS grade A.

More than ever, leaders are expected to be supportive and empathic towards their teams. People are not machines and machines do not create as much value anymore as knowledge does. People need to be empowered and realise their personal potential and grow. Companies innovate through knowledge and technology. And psychological safety drives performance. Empathy is to be added to the repertoire of CEOs and leaders, therefore:

We need Chief Empathy Officers!

I find it important that this message is shared, so you can download my dissertation (77 pages) for free. All I want from you is that you answer a few questions, thank you.

The Chief Empathy Officer frontpage STRATZR.com
Go to Download
Abstract

The purpose of this research is to better understand how CEOs perceive their responsibility for establishing psychological safety in the management team.

The study investigates CEOs’ belief and self-perception of their responsibility for establishing psychological safety in their local and specific constructed realities. The social phenomenon of psychological safety is a product of meaning-making activities of the CEOs who have been interviewed. It uses a qualitative research approach with structured face-to-face interviews so that congruence between words and emotions can be observed. This, to test better how personal beliefs, experiences and values, influence the attitude and perception of the CEO toward the mentioned responsibility, relate to one another.

The results of this study indicate that CEOs have a positive attitude toward psychological safety and their responsibility for establishing this. The CEOs’ perception is predominantly influenced by personality, personal values and experiences. The results also indicate that psychological safety has become a hygiene factor for CEOs, in this case meaning that its absence has a higher negative impact than the positive impact of its presence. The current societal context may provide a fertile ground for psychological safety, but psychological safety only partially mediates the needs of society. The outcomes indicate also that the establishment of psychological safety depends on boundary conditions that could hinder the actual behaviour of the CEO in this respect, regardless of a positive perception.

Keywords: Psychological Safety, CEO, Belief System, Personal Experiences, Behaviour, Boundary Conditions

Björn Schigt / About Author
Björn Schigt, based in Kilchberg (Zurich), is passionate about leadership development in an intercultural context and helping executives and managers of international organisations to be successful and satisfied in their current & future roles and responsibilities. He enjoys assessing and developing leadership potential by using structured and client-serving approaches. Björn is an expert on empathic leadership and has written The Chief Empathy Officer: how CEOs perceive their responsibility for establishing psychological safety in the management team, and he has developed the Psychological Safety Excellence Assessment for Empathic Leadership.

During his 17 years as an executive and consultant in leadership, commercial strategy and operational roles for global industry leaders such as Holcim, CRH and Hilti, among other roles, Björn led Commercial Excellence for Europe, was Commercial Director in Azerbaijan, assisting the Executive Committee in M&A, regional strategies and turnarounds, and consulted Leadership Teams in Eastern Europe, Russia, Asia-Pacific, and North America on M&A, commercial & strategic initiatives.

Björn holds three Master Degrees from respectively HEC Paris/Oxford University (M.Sc Consulting & Coaching for Change), Rotterdam School of Management (M.Sc BA), and CEMS (Master International Management). His executive education focused on corporate finance (LBS), marketing metrics (Wharton), data & analytics (HBS), and leadership development (IMD). Additionally, Björn is a certified coach by Erickson International, Marshall Goldsmith, Global Coaching Group, New Ventures West and is a certified assessor for Hogan Assessments.

In his free time, Björn enjoys outdoor sports, in particular, cycling in the Swiss Alps, renovation work, reading and watching F1 and cycling. Björn has lived in 7 countries, worked in 50+, and is fluent in English, German and Dutch.
More posts by Björn Schigt