The Influence–Safety Map
Two things quietly shape how work actually feels: informal politics and psychological safety. Informal politics is how things really get decided, regardless of title. Psychological safety is how safe it feels to speak up, push back, or admit a mistake. This tool maps where you currently stand on both, within your own current cultural context.
Takes about 5 minutes — 20 short questions, then a plain-language picture of your pattern, prompts to reflect on your own or bring to a coaching conversation, and space to draft your own next steps: what to develop, what to decide on purpose, and what to just watch.
Your Result
The line in the middle of each bar marks the neutral midpoint of the 1–7 scale — it's a fixed reference point, not a target, so "above" or "below" just shows which way you leaned. On their own, these two numbers aren't good or bad — what they mean together is explained below.
A tight cluster of similar answers is a clearer signal than an average alone. A wide spread usually means the real story is more specific than one number can show — worth exploring below.
Your Influence score of / 7 actually blends two different things. Splitting them out can be more informative than the single number above.
A short summary pulled directly from your own answers above — a plain-language version of your scores.
These aren't scored — they're prompts to help you reflect further, on your own or with your coach. Jot a note if something resonates.
Before treating this as the full picture, it's worth asking: is this a pattern that's repeated over time, or shaped by one or two recent moments? Were your answers sharp and localized (high in most places, low in a specific cluster) rather than low across the board — a specific, uneven pattern is usually a stronger sign of an accurate read than a blanket low score. Does your own track record support this read — have you generally been right about situations like this before? And is there someone outside the situation, with nothing at stake either way, who could sanity-check this with you?
One more thing worth checking: did you answer based on how you actually felt, or based on what you did despite how you felt? Some people push through fear rather than stop feeling it — if that's you, a high score here might reflect your resolve more than genuine ease.
Your reflection notes above (what to develop, decide, and watch) are just for your own thinking — nothing on this page is stored or sent anywhere.
Your honest reaction helps keep this tool sharp. This is separate from your results above — nothing here is linked to your scores.