3 Tips to Maintain Professional Safety

Erica Kesse

Now that you have secured safety, learn how to maintain it.

What is professional safety? It is being able to comfortably do your great and purposeful work within a culture of people who seek to understand and empower you. This article is for professionals who recognize that their work environment is not a safe place.


Be the Change


Self- aware, self- responsible, and Fearlessness

Intimately understanding yourself sets the stage for showing up authentically and being sensitive to your intuition. You understand yourself by knowing what you want, like, need, and things that cause concern within you when you are interacting with others. Let me repeat this, you must know yourself. First things first, you cannot expect to be honored and given safety if you do not give yourself safety. The question then leads to, Are you safe with yourself? Or do you ensure that you defend yourself and set up circumstances for safe experiences? Please do not confuse safe here with being paranoid or not being a risk taker. Safety is an understanding within yourself that you shall be well despite any situation. Safety is a belief that you know and have everything to have the kind of life you want. Two affirmations that you can say to yourself is, “I demand safety!” “All is well. I am safe.”


Train


Being clear on what you want, like, and need confirms how you demand to be treated. For example, a colleague will not be able to schedule a meeting with you during your lunch time because you hold that time for eating and being with yourself or other co-workers. Furthermore, you will be attuned to shifts in the environment. Your intuition will acknowledge any nuances. These concerns can be acknowledged as they do not align with your wants, like, and needs. For example, you can respond to your colleagues that you need to go to lunch during this hour, yet we can schedule a time tomorrow after 1 PM.  Being self-responsible is to make, assert, and hold boundaries. Your own professional safety has everything to do with you not abusing yourself. It is important to be conscientious about yourself, which includes your time and effort. Most of the time, you will sacrifice in ways that is not the expectation of your employer. Test out your beliefs and be sure they remain true to gaining enhancement.


“Be Me” Time


Safety is something that you must demand from both you and other. Being fearless by what you will and will not do outside of the description of your position. It is common knowledge that 20% of employees do all of the work while the other 80% are working on getting out of work. Holding true to your integrity and moral compass, do great work. Doing great work must be placed within the structure of specified goals. Do your part to more the effort forward and leave the rest for the team. With being self-aware and self- responsible, be fearless that your boundaries allow you to be honor both yourself and the organization. Fearlessness is a tough proportion when you worry about stability. The antidote for this thinking is that if an employer or professional environment demands you to care more about the business than yourself then they could care less if you are healthy to keep doing great work. Get out of your own way in having professional safety. 

The 3 Flows of Leadership: Why Upward Communication is Non-Negotiable

By Erica Kesse • October 24, 2025
Effective leadership demands a holistic approach to internal communication, recognizing its multidimensional framework. This system is defined by three distinct flows - Upward, Downward, and Lateral, each serving a specific, vital function that directly impacts productivity and profit. For the CEO, understanding and nurturing the Upward Flow is non-negotiable. Downward: The Direction Flow (Necessary, But Insufficient) Downward communication (from leadership to subordinates) is essential for delegation and distributing information. However, an organization dominated by this top-down approach quickly becomes rigid and unresponsive. True leadership understands that direction must be balanced by receptivity. Upward: The Innovation and Mental Health Flow The Upward Flow is the pulse check of the organization. It's the vital mechanism that allows employees to surface problems, share innovative ideas, and provide crucial feedback. When the CEO and their leadership team actively cultivate and respond to upward communication, two things happen: 1. Innovation: Valuable, ground-level insights are integrated into strategic planning. 2. Mental Health: Employees feel heard, increasing their sense of value and reducing stress, which directly supports their **mental health** and boosts morale. Lateral: The Agility Flow Finally, Lateral communication enables cross-functional collaboration, ensuring departments are aligned on goals. When all three flows are healthy and efficient, the organization operates like a sophisticated nervous system, maximizing its responsiveness and overall vitality. The success of the modern CEO and their leadership team depends on maintaining a strategic balance across all three flows. However, the health and resilience of the entire enterprise hinge on a continuous, valued, and non-negotiable stream of communication flowing up the hierarchy.

The Communication Blueprint: What Every CEO Needs for Organizational Agility

By Erica Kesse • October 17, 2025
The organizational destiny of any modern enterprise is directly tied to the efficiency of its internal communication system. For the modern CEO, building a robust communication framework is not about mandate—it’s about survival in a dynamic market. Formal vs. Informal: The Strategic Balance A key part of the communication blueprint is understanding the interplay between formal and informal channels. Formal communication (reports, official emails) provides structure, clarity, and accountability. However, the social fabric of the organization, the trust and agility required for quick problem-solving is built through informal communication. The CEO must ensure leadership fosters a strategic balance, preventing an over-reliance on rigid, top-down structures that stifle valuable feedback. Lateral Communication and Innovation Organizational agility relies heavily on Lateral/Horizontal Communication—the flow of information between peers and across departments. When silos exist, innovation dies. Effective leadership must facilitate this cross-functional collaboration to ensure knowledge sharing and joint problem-solving. This efficient flow is crucial for driving productivity and ensuring the organization can respond quickly to market shifts. The CEO’s Human-Centric Mandate The path to a thriving workforce begins with an unwavering commitment to communication excellence, which requires specific skills from the CEO and the leadership team. This includes active listening, strategic channel selection, and maintaining radical transparency. This culture, which also supports employee mental health, positions the organization as a responsive, unified entity ready to meet market demands. The CEO acts as the architect of the communication ecosystem. By strategically balancing formality, facilitating lateral flow, and practicing transparent leadership, the organization gains the agility and resilience needed for sustainable growth.

The CEO's Secret Weapon: Why Strategic Communication is the Ultimate Leadership Tool

By Erica Kesse • October 3, 2025
Effective communication is not a soft skill your organization can treat as optional; it is the organizational nervous system that dictates its health, agility, and competitive viability. For every CEO, viewing communication strategically is the single most important leadership tool for driving profitability and corporate culture. A breakdown in communication is a silent profit killer. Data shows that poor information flow leads to measurable financial costs: high employee turnover, lost productivity, and damaged brand reputation. A CEO committed to communication excellence essentially adopts a powerful risk management strategy, ensuring that instructions, expectations, and goals are clearly understood, preventing costly confusion and frustration. Upward Communication: Empowering Leadership While delegation is necessary, true leadership thrives on the information that flows upward. Upward communication from a direct report to the executive team is vital. It allows employees to share innovative ideas, surface problems before they escalate, and, crucially, feel a valuable sense of being heard. A CEO who fosters this flow cultivates innovation and avoids being blindsided by internal issues. Fostering a Resilient Workforce There is a direct correlation between clear communication and employee well-being. When leadership ensures clarity and accountability, and when employees feel their input is valued, stress and confusion are reduced. This sense of psychological safety directly supports employee mental health and cultivates a resilient workforce. Ultimately, the tone for this thriving, communicative culture must be set by the CEO. Strategic communication is a prerequisite for organizational success. The commitment of the CEO to this framework is what turns an average company into an agile, profitable enterprise.
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