Psychological Safety: The Cornerstone of High-Performing Teams
Imagine you are in a meeting and have a great idea but hesitate to share it thinking "What if they think it's stupid?" or a project you're closely involved with has some major issues but no one wants to raise it for fear of being blamed. That hesitation or unwillingness to speak out are both down to a lack of psychological safety and costs organisations opportunities to innovate, learn, build trust and can lead to reputational damage and financial cost.
First coined by Amy Edmondson in 1999, psychological safety is the belief that you can speak up, take risks, and make mistakes without fear of humiliation or punishment.
So why should leaders care?
Psychological safety has been found to be the no.1 factor in high-performing teams. Teams with it are more willing to try new approaches, people feel more engaged and valued for their work, and mistakes are seen as chances to learn and improve. It definitely isn't about being comfortable or avoiding accountability though. Teams with high levels of trust and safety actually challenge each other more often and have more honest discussions.
There are four parts to creating psychological safety which build upon each other:
Inclusion safety - everyone has a sense of belonging and can be themselves without fear of being judged.
Learner safety - people feel safe to ask questions, admit mistakes, fear is detached from failure.
Contributor safety - team members feel able to offer different ideas and views to benefit the whole team.
Challenger safety - people feel safe to question each others' ideas and challenge the 'norm'.
How can leaders build psychological safety?
Admit mistakes readily and role model vulnerability
Actively encourage questions, curiosity and different perspectives
Respond to ideas with respect even if not taken forward
Set expectations for respectful behaviour including giving and receiving challenge
What’s one thing you do to make people feel safe to speak up? How do leaders know when people aren't prepared to speak out? Comment with your thoughts below