Through our recent MAX Academy, we explored the concept of psychological safety as a tool to help build resilience in those around us. We walked through four specific stages for creating psychological safety when working with those who have experienced trauma and adverse childhood or adverse community experiences (ACEs). And we explored how to build a culture of trust in our efforts to serve one another.
Nearly 50 workforce professionals came together to explore the following forms of psychological safety and identify strategies for building such safety within a work context:
- Inclusion Safety
- Learner Safety
- Contributor Safety
- Challenger Safety
Participants were overwhelmingly positive about their experience. In a program evaluation survey, participants were asked to rate each item named in the chart below on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 representing “strongly agree.” Each question had a median response of 5, and all 31 respondents gave a five (5) rating to “Content presented was applicable to my work,” a very high mark for the session’s choice of topic, content, and instructor. The lowest average of the six questions is by no other measure low: 4.9 for “I’d like to attend future MAX Academy workshops.”
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Said one participant, “I learned so many things. [The training provided] a lot of reminders to put on my trauma-informed glasses as a better way to serve our clients.” Said another, “What was most valuable about today’s program is understanding that this training is also for management and not just the clients we serve.”
Beyond the rich learning opportunity, participants also acknowledged the valuable networking achieved through attending the MAX Academy. All participants completing the program evaluation survey reported to have met at least one or more new contact. And while all participants shared plans to follow up with their new contacts, nearly half (48.6 percent) reported plans to follow up with more than 3 new contacts.
Special thanks to Darrell Green with the Professional Excellence Program in the School of Social Work at Georgia State University – Andrew Young School of Policy Studies for delivering an exceptional training at this MAX Academy – and to Professional Excellence Program leaders Deidre Carmichael, Ph.D. and Amy Mobley for their partnership in making it happen. Special thanks also to our partners at the Atlanta Technical College for hosting the program. And to our MAX leaders Dr. Ray Perren, Jeannie Ross, and Chris Kidd, special thanks for helping to bring this program to fruition.
The MAX Academy would not be possible without our workforce colleagues who joined us and contributed to a helpful and productive learning experience for all. Special thanks to all who joined us! As one participant noted, “psychological safety is for everyone.”
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ABOUT THE MAX ACADEMY
Launched in 2014, the mission of MAX is to advance economic competitiveness in the Atlanta region by strengthening connections, collaborations, and practices among workforce developers and organizations engaged in workforce development.
The MAX Academy offers professional development and capacity building training workshops to help workforce development professionals develop new skills, learn best practices, and engage in peer-to-peer learning.