“Humans are my speciality”, says Saffron Bagallay, founder, owner and CEO of the Personal Mastery Lab. She will be sharing some of her experience as a sociologist with IMEX America attendees. She’s part of the USBI Global World Series Speaker Showcase in partnership with IMEX and MPI taking place 7 October (Smart Monday, powered by MPI).
The Showcase comprises 15 top-level speakers from around the world who will deliver quick-fire sessions which attendees can dip into throughout the day to discover potential new speakers for their own events and gain useful knowledge and insights.
Saffron Baggallay (pictured) knows a thing or two about what makes people tick. For over 23 years she has been designing, developing and delivering personal mastery-based leadership programmes. She has worked with companies around the world, across banking, manufacturing, professional services and retail sectors, including the likes of KPMG, PwC, Shell and Massmart, owned by Walmart.
Her session, ‘Personal mastery for high performance’, will outline some of the skills which leaders need in order to lead compassionately and also create high-performing teams. One of the keys to compassionate leadership, she says, is fostering psychological safety.
“Every single human is looking for psychological safety,” says Saffron. “Without this they become self-protective and unable to create a strong enough connection to work well together.”
“Psychological safety means different things to different people: for some it could be strong team relationships, for some it could be fundamental competency, for others it could simply be the reassurance that someone has their back.”
So, if psychological safety means different things to different people, how can leaders figure out what it means for each of their team members? The answer, according to Saffron, lies in using the enneagram.
“The enneagram is the most magical thing on earth, and I don’t know how people live without it – although I may be biased! It’s an ancient tool and used as a common language across the world to describe what drives humans and their behaviours. It’s about understanding what triggers people, what they deem important and what they want to protect.
“Once we understand what motivates others, we can start to have conversations that are extremely focused and very rich – and, in turn, this fuels a powerful and productive working relationship. In fact, it’s the cornerstone of success and a high-performing team.”
Leaders can only make an impact if they have a fundamental understanding of their team. It all boils down to an awareness of human behaviour. Saffron sums up: “If you can’t understand people, you can’t lead them. Alongside a business strategy it’s imperative there’s a human strategy. Your business’s route to success, however you get there, is driven by the team.”
Want to find out more? Meet Saffron Baggallay at the USBI Global World Series Speaker Showcase in partnership with IMEX and MPI taking place on Smart Monday, powered by MPI. IMEX America 2024 takes place at the Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas, 8-10 October.
