The Catalyst #21: How To Foster Psychological Safety In Your Team

...because a one-point increase in psychological safety relates to 0.72 point decrease in burnout

First, some key stats.

• In-person workers who felt psychologically unsafe had an injury rate of 36.5%, compared to 20.2% of those who are psychologically safe
• 9.2% of those who work exclusively from home reported feeling psychologically unsafe compared to 15.2% of those who work in-person at least one day a week
• one-point increase in psychological safety relates 0.63-point increase in intent to stay

With the above stats, its clear that lower psychological safety will -

• increase frequency of injuries or mistakes,
• decrease the intent to stay and
• also lead to increase in burnout for the team.

As a leader or a project manager, your team is your responsibility. And so is their well being.

Also as an individual in your team, psychological safety in your team is directly related to your own well being.

Not only it will affect your involvement either sides but also influence your willingness, your career trajectory, your performance & a lot more.

What is Psychological Safety?

Psychological safety refers to work place environment where every individual of the team feels comfortable to

• express themselves
• voice their opinions
• put across their thoughts &
• even speak up their concerns without any fear of negative consequences.

It refers to the confidence to take interpersonal risks, share ideas & be authentic at work without feeling worried about embarrassment, punishment &/or exclusion.

Ways to foster Psychological safety in your team.

As a leader,

1. prioritize psychological safety
2. facilitate open communication
3. welcome productive conflicts
4. avoid negativity
5. acknowledge vulnerability

As a team member,

1. speak respectfully with one another
2. support & encourage colleagues

Try these actionable insights & share your experience post practicing these.

Which ones have you tried before?

Hit Reply & let me know in comments.

Psychological safety is a dynamic and multifaceted concept that requires continuous nurturing and attention from both leaders and team members.

If this edition of The Catalyst was helpful or if you found it to be insightful & informative, please like, comment & share it with your network.

Mission Ahead

This 2025 & thereafter, I am on a mission to build systems for businesses & fellow project managers to help build confident teams & deliver quality projects, stress free.

Want to run your projects better & make your teams love working on them?

DM me to discuss about how I can help your projects, teams & businesses do better.

If you are a decision maker & if my mission rings bell with your thoughts & interests or aligns with your vision for sustainable project delivery, you can contribute to my mission in the following ways - (DM me to discuss more about these)

1. Opting for paid consulting for your business productivity transformation
2. Requesting paid online/offline workshops for your project teams & leaders
3. Sponsoring this newsletter (multiple options to choose from)

If you are a content creator wanting to feature in The Catalyst, feel free to reach out & we can work this out for FREE.

Why would you want this?

• to promote your services
• to get registrations for your upcoming webinars
• to gain more visibility for your offerings
• to create possibilities for collaboration in future

Finally, if you are a job seeker in the current market, you don't have to do it all alone.

Grab set of valuable resources for FREE to help you with ATS, resume, interviews & overcoming rejections by visiting my topmate page - https://topmate.io/rahul_pai

If you still have questions or need more help, feel free to book a call & we can work out a strategy that will deliver results.