5 Practical Steps to Build Psychological Safety in Your Team
In today's dynamic work environment, the concept of psychological safety has become a keystone of effective team dynamics. Defined as the belief that one will not be punished or humiliated for speaking up with ideas, questions, concerns, or mistakes, psychological safety is crucial for fostering innovation, learning, and productivity (TedTalk here if you want a refresh on what Psychological Safety is... and what it isn't)
This is a practical guide for managers and leaders aiming to create an atmosphere where team members feel secure, valued, and motivated to contribute their best.
1. Establish Open Communication
Why it Matters:
Open communication is foundational to trust and psychological safety, encouraging the free exchange of ideas and concerns. To be clear, most teams I see don't truly communicate openly!
How to Implement:
Model Active Listening: Demonstrate listening by summarizing and encouraging further discussion. I always like the "let me check my understanding" line if you're talking to someone and you want them to feel heard. Role model this as a leader.
Team Meetings: Use check-in questions to allow everyone to voice thoughts freely. Having some structure to this is a good idea, like a "Personal/Work" one where everyone will provide an answer of 1-10 for how they're feeling about the two aspects, with higher scores representing more positive emotions, and then the permission to summarise why if they wish.
Use the "Circle of Safety" Workshop: This team activity will help you all to reach a common understanding of what behaviours your team needs to communicate openly, and what behaviours you feel create barriers to opening up.
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2. Show Vulnerability as a Leader
Why it Matters:
Leader vulnerability breaks down barriers, encouraging others to share openly. This is one of the most powerful leadership traits you can have, and the fastest way to create connections with your team.
How to Implement:
Share Failures and Learnings: Regularly share your mistakes and what you've learned. You need to be brave with this!? Everyone makes mistakes, and your position as a leader doesn't exempt you from that.? The more you use this language and normalise learning from mistakes, the greater the shared learning of your team.
Ask for Help: Publicly seek assistance to show it’s encouraged.
Share a Personal Story: Help your team understand what makes you who you are.? This is a good place to start if the other two suggestions feel hard.
3. Promote a Culture of Feedback
Why it Matters:
Constructive feedback supports continuous improvement and learning. It's bloody hard to do and against almost every instinct we have as humans, but it is an essential ingredient for psychologically safe teams, and a huge step towards high-performance.
How to Implement:
Constructive Feedback Framework: Use structured feedback models like "Situation-Behaviour-Impact" .? You need to train yourselves at this, so provide some guidance and practice.?
Celebrate Feedback: Recognize the giving and receiving of feedback as a growth opportunity.
Apply to positive and constructive scenarios: ?We often focus on constructive feedback, but it's equally important to be proactive with telling people what you think they did well and what you value in what they did (so they're more likely to do it again!)
4. Encourage Inclusivity to Welcome Diverse Thoughts
Why it Matters:
Inclusivity ensures everyone feels valued, enabling open sharing of unique viewpoints.? From Inclusion, Diversity is welcomed.
How to Implement:
Equal Space in Meetings: Create a team charter on what responsibilities need to be shared across the team in order to create a space where everyone is heard equally
Use Inclusive Language: Promote language that respects all backgrounds.? Hold each other to account to prevent complacency.
Use 1:1's to check in:? Do all of your team feel equally heard?
Tackle Groupthink:? A symptom of a non-inclusive workspace is one person's idea being agreed be consensus without alternative thoughts/challenge.? If you see this happening, try interjecting with "It's great that several of you feel committed to this idea, but what I would love to hear is an alternative viewpoint"
5. Set the Standard with Behavioural Norms
Why it Matters:
Clear norms support a safe and respectful environment where members can express themselves freely. A "behavioural norm" is just one which you all agree is a behaviour that needs to be consistent and feel "normal" instead of the exception.
How to Implement:
Collaboratively Develop Norms: Set ground rules for interactions and decision-making.? A team Charter is always a good idea.
Lead by Example: Model these norms consistently and address deviations constructively. Don’t beat yourself up if you slip!? If someone catches you slipping, then praise them for having the courage to point that out.?
Reassess constantly:? The key to sustained success is being comfortable with continually stretching yourselves and developing.? Make this a regular rhythm to check in on the behaviours needed for everyone to feel psychologically safe.
Some final pieces of advice:
Conclusion
Building psychological safety is an ongoing process that requires genuine commitment and consistent effort from leaders. By taking these practical steps, you can create a foundation for a culture where team members feel safe to express themselves, leading to increased innovation, engagement, and overall team performance. Start with one step, share your intentions with your team, and collectively work towards enhancing psychological safety within your organization.
Be kind to yourself, this is a collective responsibility and a learning experience for all involved!
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8 个月Great article Sean O'Shea. These apply to all organisations, large as well as SME. It is improtant to recognise how important culture plays in helping teams work, thrive and succeed together.