The Benefits of Safety and Freedom to Engage

We shared about the first driver of engagement, psychological meaningfulness. Now, we’ll get into psychological safety (experiencing the freedom and safety to engage). This term became somewhat well known after Google popularized it by sharing some research by Amy Edmondson. But let’s break it down.

Psychological safety exists when:?

• It’s safe to be ourselves at work rather than feeling like we have to protect ourselves
• We freely share our ideas allowing the organization to leverage great ideas
• It’s influenced by social elements: high trust, fair treatment
• It’s supported by management – in words and deeds

Action: Use this checklist to gauge whether your team has a safe environment.

Check out this video on building a psychologically safe environment by Amy Edmondson.?

“Questions are really powerful when creating safety – they indicate to someone that you actually want to hear their voice.”

– Amy Edmondson