The Hammock Vs Safety Net Principle

It is irrefutably important that you offer the people in your life (work and play) psychological safety.

That means they shouldn’t worry about you flip-flopping, bullying, dropping them in it, going spare at them so they are petrified of making mistakes and/or behaving inappropriately towards them.

They shouldn’t find you and your company unpredictable beyond normal moods or panic about what you might say or do next.

In a work context that means it makes sense that people feel they have a safety net.

When they feel psychologically safe, they push harder, take more risk, experiment more and find solutions outside the box …

… because there’s no fear of what will happen if it doesn’t work out, so why not give it a go?!

BUT, protecting them from themselves, their responsibilities and their autonomy will not help you either.

This is when you think you’re giving them a safety net but you’ve actually got them in a hammock.

It might show up as micromanaging, rescuing, taking over (especially when it’s difficult) and removing their delegated autonomy.

People who are held in hammocks won’t think for themselves, won’t be proactive, won’t learn and expand … and likely will leave you exhausted with their constant need to check in (basically leaving you doing the work of two people or more).

Safety net vs hammock is about setting and respecting boundaries- theirs and yours

It’s letting them fail, it’s encouraging them to come up with solutions, letting them lead, it’s knowing the ball will be dropped and not rushing in to catch it - even if it might make you look bad.

Because in the longer term this stuff becomes a culture, and if you’re not careful, your best intentions will end up with you running a dictatorship style system where you’re involved in every single element of play.

It sounds exhausting, doesn't it?

Its not good for you, for them or for business.