{"href":"https://api.simplecast.com/oembed?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcounter-errorism.simplecast.com%2Fepisodes%2Fcounter-errorism-episode-13-becky-ray-WgEUwd0S","width":444,"version":"1.0","type":"rich","title":"Counter-Errorism - Episode 13 - Becky Ray","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_url":"https://image.simplecastcdn.com/images/b8ec0cd0-f452-4065-8f2a-4b82fd3caef4/6f4a1750-908d-413c-b520-af84add7b70c/jacclandhydeinterviewingasafetyadvocatefemalethatalways7231fa7a_9c86_444b_9065_841bdd80c9fe.jpg","thumbnail_height":300,"provider_url":"https://simplecast.com","provider_name":"Simplecast","html":"","height":200,"description":"In the lucky and long-time coming episode 13 of the \"Counter-Errorism\" podcast, host James asks his guest, Becky Ray, for her top recommendation regarding performance improvement. This episode is a little shorter than most so far and we really missed having Ken join us.\n\nHere is a summary of key discussion points:\n**Be Curious and Non-Judgmental**\nBecky's primary advice is to practice \"real deep curiosity\" while letting go of judgments and assumptions. She explains that while the human brain naturally jumps to conclusions to function, true understanding requires putting those biases aside and asking questions until a person's actions make 100% sense. James agrees, noting that in causal analysis and investigations, you cannot develop corrective actions without getting in the \"tunnel with the workers\" to fully understand why they made their decisions. He equates having \"preconceived notions\" to operating with biases, which is essentially the same as passing negative judgment.\n\n**Assume Positive Intent**\nThe discussion expands to day-to-day team communication, where assumptions about other people's context—especially in text messages or emails—can create silos and conflict. James shares a personal rule he uses to combat this: **always assume positive intent** when the tone of a message is unclear. Becky agrees that misunderstanding someone's intent causes frustration that hinders performance, emphasizing that \"it's not what you say, it's what I hear\".\n\n**The Gap and the Gain**\nThe two swap book recommendations, with James mentioning *The Psychological Safety Playbook* and Becky citing authors like Sidney Dekker, Todd Conklin, Amy Edmondson, and Timothy R. Clark. Becky highlights her current favorite author, Dr. Benjamin Hardy, and his book with Dan Sullivan, ***The Gap and the Gain***. She explains that **\"the gap\"** is the distance between where you are and your ultimate goals, while **\"the gain\"** is the progress you can see when looking back. She encourages finding gratitude for the gains achieved rather than feeling like a failure for falling short of the gap. She contrasts this positive mindset with standard corporate board meetings that focus strictly on red and green KPIs, which James jokingly refers to as \"watermelon charts\"."}