In a 2017 Harvard Business Review titled “High Performing Teams Need Psychological Safety. Here’s How to Create It,” author Laura Delizonna PhD., who is an executive coach and an instructor at Stanford University, discusses a topic many organizations, driven by the need for elevated and accelerated innovation, are tackling — psychological safety.
What is psychological safety in the workplace? Psychological safety is a shared belief that the team and each member is safe for interpersonal risk taking. According to William Kahn PhD., Boston University, Management and Organizations, it can be defined as “being able to show and employ one’s self without fear of negative consequences of self-image, status or career.” How many of us can truly say we have this with our boss, colleagues, or from senior leaders? We have all experienced times when we share what we believe to be a good idea only to have it shot down in a personal direction, “that’s the dumbest thing I’ve heard in a long time!” or in a more subtle way when the idea is neither acknowledged nor explored. What happens next is a dangerous dynamic. Idea generators begin to doubt themselves, withhold ideas, lose motivation, and most importantly fail to gain trust or lose trust in the team. Innovation becomes difficult, if not impossible.
I have said it many times “the foundation of success in teams is trust.” Without it you are too fearful to be vulnerable. You don’t take risks. You start telling people what you think they want to hear. You hold back on thinking big and rarely hold others accountable. Conflict is avoided and commitment to the people, project, or organization is broken or diminished. The overall cost is high at many levels.
How does a team leader create psychological safety in the workplace? Professor Delizonna has six suggestions. Here are three (all six are discussed in her article).
- Approach conflict as a collaborator, not an adversary. We all know people who need to win, regardless of the issue or the magnitude of the problem, with the goal to always come out on top. There is no room for accommodation, compromising, and surely there is not an atmosphere for collaboration. For the gold standard of win-win to happen, trust and commitment to the work at hand, and the team members, must exist. A good leader can foster and nurture this.
- Speak human to human. Who doesn’t want to be respected, feel they are of value and are being given the recognition they deserve as a person and employee? How often do we hear it? Finding common ground among the members is an important way to show the similarity among the individuals and supersede the differences. In a truly diverse workplace it can involve values, feelings, and dreams reflected in language, body language, and interaction.
- Replace blame with curiosity. If the atmosphere in the office is “catch them doing something wrong,” how can anyone feel practically or psychologically safe? People go into a discussion with a defense rather than an idea. They hesitate and try to read the room before speaking, because they think they will be criticized and ultimately accused and held responsible. Delizonna suggests leaders stick to fact-finding and observations while speaking in an even tone with neutral words; looking for solutions and ways of preventing mistakes rather than “who done it.”
Safety in the workplace has come a long way from the days of sweat shops. We follow OSHA requirements, have heightened security protocols, and practice for the worst. When it comes to psychological safety, we have a long way to go. The “Me To” movement confronted a serious issue in homes and the workplace. Psychological safety encompasses more, it demands safety in a psychological way — self-esteem, respect, value, and encourages the best in everyone with the desire for happier employees who contribute more and greater ideas to the mission. Replacing blame, speaking human to human, and addressing conflict with collaboration rather than adversity are but a few of the approaches to a higher level of psychological safety in the workplace.
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