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May 26, 2023 · 17m · top-founders

Why You Should Start Measuring Psychological Safety Today

Susan Hunt Stevens · 13m spoken Nathan Latka · 46s spoken
0:00 / 0:00

gold bands on the timeline = statements, start to end. Hover to read, click to jump. CC turns on captions

Susan Hunt Stevens, CEO of WeSpire, presents at SaaSOpen on the necessity of measuring workplace psychological safety, detailing research-backed frameworks, real-world case studies, and actionable leadership strategies that drive team performance and employee retention.

How this conversation actually went

Every chapter scored 0–10 on four independent dynamics. Hover any point for the reasoning behind the score. Nathan holds 5% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 0.0 Guest teaching 0.0 Guest disagreement 0.0 Nathan pushing back 0.0
05100:0010:000:55–3:52 · Nathan as informed peer 0/10 WeSpire's B Corp Milestone and Session Roadmap This segment consists of a solo conference keynote delivered by Susan Hunt Stevens, introducing WeSpire's B Corp certification and Google's Project Aristotle research. There is no host involvement or disagreement during the presentation.3:55–7:41 · Nathan as informed peer 0/10 Analyzing WeSpire's Internal Assessment and Cultural Remedies Susan presents WeSpire's internal survey findings, detailing challenges around responsiveness, staffing constraints, and implementing Radical Candor. It is entirely a solo talk with zero interactive pushback or combativeness.7:43–10:50 · Nathan as informed peer 0/10 Enterprise Client Case Study and Leadership Intervention Strategies Susan shares a case study of an enterprise client where socialization habits and micro-inequities damaged safety, followed by behavioral recommendations. The presentation remains entirely informative and non-adversarial.10:51–13:43 · Nathan as informed peer 0/10 Key Takeaways and Call to Action for Measuring Safety Susan wraps up her keynote with actionable advice on scaling psychological safety before answering brief audience inquiries regarding remote work and recommended reading. The atmosphere is purely collaborative and educational.13:44–17:41 · Nathan as informed peer 0/10 Q&A on ROI Metrics, Survey Frequency, and Cross-Team Dynamics The moderator and an audience member ask Susan about ROI metrics, measurement frequency, and team velocity. Susan answers constructively with examples regarding retention metrics and cross-functional sales team friction.0:55–3:52 · Guest teaching 0/10 WeSpire's B Corp Milestone and Session Roadmap This segment consists of a solo conference keynote delivered by Susan Hunt Stevens, introducing WeSpire's B Corp certification and Google's Project Aristotle research. There is no host involvement or disagreement during the presentation.3:55–7:41 · Guest teaching 0/10 Analyzing WeSpire's Internal Assessment and Cultural Remedies Susan presents WeSpire's internal survey findings, detailing challenges around responsiveness, staffing constraints, and implementing Radical Candor. It is entirely a solo talk with zero interactive pushback or combativeness.7:43–10:50 · Guest teaching 0/10 Enterprise Client Case Study and Leadership Intervention Strategies Susan shares a case study of an enterprise client where socialization habits and micro-inequities damaged safety, followed by behavioral recommendations. The presentation remains entirely informative and non-adversarial.10:51–13:43 · Guest teaching 0/10 Key Takeaways and Call to Action for Measuring Safety Susan wraps up her keynote with actionable advice on scaling psychological safety before answering brief audience inquiries regarding remote work and recommended reading. The atmosphere is purely collaborative and educational.13:44–17:41 · Guest teaching 0/10 Q&A on ROI Metrics, Survey Frequency, and Cross-Team Dynamics The moderator and an audience member ask Susan about ROI metrics, measurement frequency, and team velocity. Susan answers constructively with examples regarding retention metrics and cross-functional sales team friction.0:55–3:52 · Guest disagreement 0/10 WeSpire's B Corp Milestone and Session Roadmap This segment consists of a solo conference keynote delivered by Susan Hunt Stevens, introducing WeSpire's B Corp certification and Google's Project Aristotle research. There is no host involvement or disagreement during the presentation.3:55–7:41 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Analyzing WeSpire's Internal Assessment and Cultural Remedies Susan presents WeSpire's internal survey findings, detailing challenges around responsiveness, staffing constraints, and implementing Radical Candor. It is entirely a solo talk with zero interactive pushback or combativeness.7:43–10:50 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Enterprise Client Case Study and Leadership Intervention Strategies Susan shares a case study of an enterprise client where socialization habits and micro-inequities damaged safety, followed by behavioral recommendations. The presentation remains entirely informative and non-adversarial.10:51–13:43 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Key Takeaways and Call to Action for Measuring Safety Susan wraps up her keynote with actionable advice on scaling psychological safety before answering brief audience inquiries regarding remote work and recommended reading. The atmosphere is purely collaborative and educational.13:44–17:41 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Q&A on ROI Metrics, Survey Frequency, and Cross-Team Dynamics The moderator and an audience member ask Susan about ROI metrics, measurement frequency, and team velocity. Susan answers constructively with examples regarding retention metrics and cross-functional sales team friction.0:55–3:52 · Nathan pushing back 0/10 WeSpire's B Corp Milestone and Session Roadmap This segment consists of a solo conference keynote delivered by Susan Hunt Stevens, introducing WeSpire's B Corp certification and Google's Project Aristotle research. There is no host involvement or disagreement during the presentation.3:55–7:41 · Nathan pushing back 0/10 Analyzing WeSpire's Internal Assessment and Cultural Remedies Susan presents WeSpire's internal survey findings, detailing challenges around responsiveness, staffing constraints, and implementing Radical Candor. It is entirely a solo talk with zero interactive pushback or combativeness.7:43–10:50 · Nathan pushing back 0/10 Enterprise Client Case Study and Leadership Intervention Strategies Susan shares a case study of an enterprise client where socialization habits and micro-inequities damaged safety, followed by behavioral recommendations. The presentation remains entirely informative and non-adversarial.10:51–13:43 · Nathan pushing back 0/10 Key Takeaways and Call to Action for Measuring Safety Susan wraps up her keynote with actionable advice on scaling psychological safety before answering brief audience inquiries regarding remote work and recommended reading. The atmosphere is purely collaborative and educational.13:44–17:41 · Nathan pushing back 0/10 Q&A on ROI Metrics, Survey Frequency, and Cross-Team Dynamics The moderator and an audience member ask Susan about ROI metrics, measurement frequency, and team velocity. Susan answers constructively with examples regarding retention metrics and cross-functional sales team friction.

speaking balance: gold is Nathan, purple is the guest (3 minute bins)

0:00 · Nathan 29.5% · guest 70.5%0:00 · Nathan 29.5% · guest 70.5%3:00 · Nathan 0% · guest 100%3:00 · Nathan 0% · guest 100%6:00 · Nathan 0% · guest 100%6:00 · Nathan 0% · guest 100%9:00 · Nathan 0% · guest 100%9:00 · Nathan 0% · guest 100%12:00 · Nathan 0% · guest 100%12:00 · Nathan 0% · guest 100%15:00 · Nathan 0% · guest 100%15:00 · Nathan 0% · guest 100%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 17:00 Calling out sales team behaviors impacting operations

Susan points out that internal team psychological safety can be undermined if external departments, such as sales teams, behave aggressively and disrespectfully toward administrative staff.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 13:45 Moderator demands concrete ROI and efficiency proof

The moderator presses Susan on how executive leadership and CFOs can tangibly justify investments in psychological safety through strict operational efficiency metrics.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 14:01 Explaining talent retention data as the key safety ROI

Susan educates the audience on measuring culture ROI via participant versus non-participant retention rates and employee NPS rather than superficial output metrics.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 0:00 Nathan introduces SaaS metrics focus for GetLatka

Host Nathan Latka frames the podcast around high-standard founder growth metrics, revenue graphs, and deep SaaS analytics filtering on GetLatka.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
WeSpire's B Corp Milestone and Session Roadmap 0000 This segment consists of a solo conference keynote delivered by Susan Hunt Stevens, introducing WeSpire's B Corp certification and Google's Project Aristotle research. There is no host involvement or disagreement during the presentation.
Analyzing WeSpire's Internal Assessment and Cultural Remedies 0000 Susan presents WeSpire's internal survey findings, detailing challenges around responsiveness, staffing constraints, and implementing Radical Candor. It is entirely a solo talk with zero interactive pushback or combativeness.
Enterprise Client Case Study and Leadership Intervention Strategies 0000 Susan shares a case study of an enterprise client where socialization habits and micro-inequities damaged safety, followed by behavioral recommendations. The presentation remains entirely informative and non-adversarial.
Key Takeaways and Call to Action for Measuring Safety 0000 Susan wraps up her keynote with actionable advice on scaling psychological safety before answering brief audience inquiries regarding remote work and recommended reading. The atmosphere is purely collaborative and educational.
Q&A on ROI Metrics, Survey Frequency, and Cross-Team Dynamics 0000 The moderator and an audience member ask Susan about ROI metrics, measurement frequency, and team velocity. Susan answers constructively with examples regarding retention metrics and cross-functional sales team friction.

Statements from this episode (8)

Assertion Not checkable as stated
Stevens: WeSpire generates about $4 million in ARR
“So first of all, just to give you a sense, we are about a four million ARR company.”
Susan Hunt Stevens May 26, 2023 ▶ 1:59
Assertion Supported
Stevens: Google's Project Aristotle found psychological safety predicts high performance
“What they found across Every hypothesis tested, over 200 hypotheses, thousands of people, is those teams with the highest levels of psychological safety were the highest performing teams.”
Susan Hunt Stevens May 26, 2023 ▶ 2:34
Disclosure
Stevens: WeSpire hired a dedicated people leader for just 25 employees
“We actually decided, and we were small at this time. We were to have 25 people. One of our members of CS hand raised to say, I'll be our first director of people, culture, and impact. And so, you know, you don't normally have a full-time HR culture person in a…”
Susan Hunt Stevens May 26, 2023 ▶ 6:37
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Stevens: Micro-inequities, not overt sexism, reduced psychological safety for women
“When we looked at it through a gender, race, income, et cetera lens, women felt significantly less safe, and there were a whole slew of comments of what was happening, and it wasn't what I would call overt sexism. It was all the micro-inequities and the micro-…”
Susan Hunt Stevens May 26, 2023 ▶ 8:47
Insight
Stevens: Being too nice is ruinous for a company
“This idea that it is okay to be direct with people and to criticize them when they let you down, but you've got to work on that relationship. But that being too nice is actually ruinous for a company.”
Susan Hunt Stevens May 26, 2023 ▶ 10:41
Insight
Stevens: Measuring psychological safety scales from 30 to 400,000-person companies
“And then it can apply in small companies like ours, with 30 people, It can apply in one of the organizations we work with has 400,400 thousand employees around the world. So it scales”
Susan Hunt Stevens May 26, 2023 ▶ 11:35
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Stevens: Hypotheses on country-level psychological safety were dead wrong
“You could very much see differences in, in cultures. But a lot of their hypotheses around where things were more safe or less safe were dead wrong.”
Susan Hunt Stevens May 26, 2023 ▶ 12:54
Insight
Stevens: Psychological safety should be measured no more than once a year
“I'm a big believer that psychological safety shouldn't be measured more than annually, because you need to work pretty consistently to get at the core drivers of psych safety.”
Susan Hunt Stevens May 26, 2023 ▶ 15:04
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