Susan Drumm says leaders hire people like themselves, creating teams of all running backs with no diversity of thought. Without psychological safety, different perspectives stay silent. Leaders must actively build environments where disagreement is safe.
Chapters
The problem is a lot of leaders hire in their own image. If you're a high-energy visionary, you might end up with 5 other visionaries who get excited right along with you, but no one's asking the tough questions or spotting the cracks. That's like a football team made up of entirely running backs. I'm a Steelers fan, so trust me, that's not how you win championships. You need a whole roster, every position doing what they do best. Now here's the kicker, pun intended, just putting different thinkers in in the same room isn't enough. Because if you don't have psychological safety, those voices won't speak up. The ideas, the critiques, they stay locked in their heads. And that's where your leadership comes in. It's your job to make it safe to disagree.