In this post, we are taking a look at the cultural benefits of providing psychological safety to your team. What does it mean, how do you achieve it, and importantly, why does it matter?
First of all, what is psychological safety? Fundamentally, it is the belief that one will not be punished or humiliated for speaking up with ideas, questions, concerns, or even mistakes. In a team environment, it refers to team members believing that they can take risks without being shamed by other team members. In psychologically safe teams, team members feel accepted and respected.
Why is psychological safety important?
It doesn’t matter what your organisation does, how it operates, or whether your workforce is remote or office-based; psychological safety at work is a must-have. Psychologically safe workplaces promote healthier, more productive and more inclusive workforces. They also provide the environment in which innovation can thrive and people can perform at their best.
That’s why, as organisations navigate new and ever-increasing challenges, the need for psychological safety at work is only growing, and interest in how to develop this culture is increasing.
In the workplace, that translates to employees feeling comfortable speaking up, whether they’re sharing ideas, asking questions, expressing concerns or acknowledging mistakes. This creates an environment where people feel comfortable being themselves and develops a climate that is characterised by interpersonal trust and mutual respect.
When things do go wrong, they can be dealt with far more efficiently and effectively in a psychologically safe environment.
What is psychological safety?
Psychological safety is often misunderstood, so let’s debunk 3 of the most commonplace myths surrounding it.
1. “Psychological safety is about everyone agreeing on everything all the time”
On the contrary, healthy conflict is a vital component of a psychologically safe environment. People should feel comfortable disagreeing with each other and know how to express this in a healthy way.
2. “In a psychologically safe environment, laziness, complacency and incompetence are accepted”
Psychologically safe does not mean “anything goes.” There’s still room for effective discipline. However, when employees are happy and invested, they are far less likely to lose interest and work ineffectively.
3. “Psychological safety is not beneficial in high-pressure environments”
To coin the term, Harvard professor Amy Edmondson developed her research in the medical and aviation industries. Even in these critical environments, the best-performing teams showed high levels of psychological safety.
How do you measure psychological safety?
The following questions make up the Fearless Organisation Scan: a framework you can use to measure the psychological safety within your team or organisation.
By answering these questions honestly, you’ll can give yourself a good idea of the level of psychological safety within your team.
- If someone makes a mistake on your team, is it often held against them?
- Are members of your team able to bring up problems and tough issues?
- Do people on your team sometimes reject others for being different?
- Is it safe to take a risk on your team?
- Is it difficult for members of your team to ask other members for help?
- Does anyone on your team deliberately act in a way that undermines another’s efforts.
- Are the unique skills and talents of people on your team valued and utilised?
Summary
In this post, we’ve discussed what, why and how to measure psychological safety, I’ll be posting a follow up soon that talks about ways to promote psychological safety within your teams.
Martyn Coupland 