Frederick A. Miller - Safe Enough to Soar: Accelerating Trust, Inclusion, & Collaboration in the Workplace

Praise for Safe Enough to Soar

The true competitive advantage in todays gig economy and race to incorporate artificial intelligence into corporate business systems is to unleash the full potential of all human assets. Safe Enough to Soar unlocks the key to ineffective team interactions and presents a compelling concept of interaction safety that is the accelerant to effective change management and continuous improvement.

Marty Belle, Vice President, Global Talent Acquisition and Inclusion & Diversity, W. W. Grainger, Inc.

Written with clarity and generosity of spirit, this book is urgently needed to help leaders drive organizational success.

Katrina S. Rogers, PhD, President, Fielding Graduate University

Accept the invitation of Fred and Judith to be safe enough to soar and learn about the journey to create safe interactions and trust in life and your organization. Their latest work reveals how to transform fear to safety and leverage conflict and disagreement into trust, opportunity, and improved organizational performance. This is a must-read for those seeking to tap the talent, knowledge, and commitment of the people in their organizations.

James N. Baldwin, JD, EdD, President, Excelsior College

Through Safe Enough to Soar, we are now provided with direction and the context within which to apply the 4 Keys. The book offers a clear pathway through four levels of interaction safety, helping me visualize a route leading to interaction safety as a way of life.

Andrew Van Breugel, General Manager and Operations Director, Salisbury Operations, Australia, Mayne Pharma International Pty. Ltd.

Trust. Inclusion. Collaboration. Beyond buzzwords, Fred and Judith outline a process by which organizations can tap into employees best efforts and thinking. Safe Enough to Soar is an invitation for everyone to create environments at work that foster real engagement and contribution.

Tony Bingham, President and CEO, Association for Talent Development

What a timely time... to prod and push us, aspirationally and pragmatically, to consider and to embrace a new level of connecting with each other to benefit individuals and organizations! Your competence and dedication across decades to create safe and powerful interactions for all is much appreciated.

Joseph C. High, former Senior Vice President and Chief People Officer, W. W. Grainger, Inc.

In todays challenging and ever-changing work environments, interaction safety is crucial for individuals and organizations to reach their full potential and soar. Fred and Judith provide a visionary and practical guide for how to achieve it as a way of life.

Mary-Frances Winters, founder and CEO, The Winters Group, Inc.

Interaction safety levels bring to life the courageous journey people are on in society today. As businesses move to Level Four, skyrocketing employee engagement will drive out organizational waste, and businesses will see tremendous growth.

Kathy Clements, former Vice President, Lean Six Sigma, Ecolab

Safe Enough to Soar seamlessly weaves together complex concepts of systems thinking, the business case for culture change, and neuroscience in a simple and engaging yet highly effective format.

Deb Dagit, President, Deb Dagit Diversity, and former Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer, Merck

Judith and Fred provide what participants, students, and my executive clients all ask for: How do I create enough safety in my workplace to fully engage people and put the tough issues out openly on the table?

Robert J. Marshak, PhD, author of Covert Processes at Work

Typically in government, the workforce is the constant and leadership is viewed by the workforce as temporary. The mentality of Ill still be here after they are gone is difficult to break through. Political influence is strong and allies are hard to find. Fred and Judiths ability to identify the current state and simply lay out a plan for change provides leadership with a road map to promote cultural change in an environment that is somewhat intolerant of it. Their insight and knowledge gained from a multitude of organizations and experiences provide workplace scenarios applicable to every environment.

Monica Kurzejeski, Deputy Mayor, City of Troy, New York

As a woman business founder and owner, I know firsthand what it means to be able to speak out and speak up. As a business leader, I recognize that creating an environment that supports all individuals to be their best self, contribute fully, and learn openly from others is a model not only for our companies but for our society as well.

Lynne Katzmann, founder and CEO, Juniper Communities

An important new book about an important new understanding of safety in the workplace. Safe Enough to Soar is an easy read that calls out a complex organizational challenge. The authors definition of interaction safety is clear, and the four levels of safety they describe are accessible and understandable. The key to this book is the value it provides to organizations of all types by challenging us all to do better by ourselves, our colleagues, and our workplaces.

Steve Humerickhouse, Executive Director, The Forum on Workplace Inclusion

Miller and Katz have elevated safety as a key condition in creating inclusive cultures in their model of interaction safety. Safety is often in the eyes of the beholder. The four levels of safety described are critical for people to explore, examine, and enact to assess not only how safe they feel but also how they contribute to creating a culture of safety for others. Miller and Katz offer concrete examples to make cultures that are more than safe enough to soar!

Ilene Wasserman, PhD, President, ICW Consulting Group

When we rolled out the 4 Keys to collaboration (from the same authors), we spent a surprising amount of time on the themes that are captured and addressed in this book. I can therefore recommend it for stand-alone initiatives aimed at helping employees speak up, speak out, and be heard, as well as for use before, during, or after deployment of the 4 Keys.

Mike Ali, PhD, former CIO, W. W. Grainger, Inc.

How do we create a great work environment where people feel safe to be fully involved and able to do their best work? Fred and Judith offer a highly engaging, thoughtful, and much-needed way to establish interaction safety so people can offer both their best and still-forming ideas.

John Vogelsang, PhD, Editor-in-Chief, OD Practitioner, Organization Development Network, and Director, Michael Harrington Center, Queens College, City University of New York

Just finished reading the book and wanted to let you know how moved I am by the message and your crystal-clear view of what inclusion can look like when intentionally practiced and authentically experienced.

Plcida V. Gallegos, PhD, President, Solfire Consulting LLC

For leaders, this book provides a much-needed, practical road map for creating a work environment where everyone feels safe to speak up and challenge the status quo. The four levels of interaction safety, enhanced with checklists and relevant examples, demystify the steps toward realizing a culture of candidness, trust, and inclusion.

Monica E. Biggs, EdD, independent OD consultant

If you want to create a work environment that brings out the best in people and fosters collaboration and respect, Safe Enough to Soar is the place to start. The concept of interaction safety is a powerful tool to diagnose and remedy the negative interpersonal dynamics that typically stifle workplaces. Great ideas come out of creative conflict; this book is an illuminating and practical guide to transforming your workplace into an environment where that creativity can be realized.