Empathetic Leadership Helps Level the Playing Field

As we return to work for a new year, it’s a great time for leaders to step back and think about how they can help create the most inclusive—and most productive—work environment possible. Ensuring a psychologically safe workspace should be central to that effort.??

Psychological safety is the shared belief that it is safe to speak up in the workplace and take risks without fear of being blamed or criticized. Employees who feel psychologically safe are more likely to test the status quo, admit mistakes, view failure as a growth opportunity, and be their authentic selves. ?

In environments where psychological safety is low, there’s a greater risk of attrition among all employees than there is in workplaces where that sense of safety is high. New research from BCG also shows the dramatic impact that psychological safety has on attrition rates among women, people of color, LGBTQ+ employees, people with disabilities, and people from economically disadvantaged backgrounds:

When psychological safety is lacking, members of these groups have a higher risk of attrition relative to other employees. For example, 18% of LGBTQ+ employees in the bottom 30% of the psychological safety spectrum are at risk of attrition, compared with just 12% of straight and cisgender employees. But for those in the top 30%, the attrition risk gap between groups narrows, resulting in a low attrition risk of 3% for all.??

Psychological safety serves as an equalizer, allowing diverse and disadvantaged employees to achieve the same levels of workplace satisfaction as their more advantaged colleagues. And in doing so, it helps erase the attrition gap.?

How Can Organizations Build a Psychologically Safe Work Environment???

More than anything else, it takes empathetic leadership. Empathetic leaders approach their teams with a mindset of openness, growth, and authenticity while setting up systems to embed psychological safety into everyday team practices. They have the power to ensure that team members feel safe, supported, and understood.??

Here are some ways to do it:?

Let employees be people first. Carve out time during meetings for team members to share something new they’ve learned or something personal from their lives. And feel free to share stories from your own life, setting the tone for others.??

Hold regular team reflections. By making this a routine practice, participants become comfortable sharing thoughts on what’s going well and ways to improve the work environment for the whole team.???

Be open and authentic. By being vulnerable and sharing your own mistakes and lessons learned, team members feel more empowered to share their ideas without fear of judgment or embarrassment.?

Challenge ideas, not people. Criticism should always be about the substance of the work, not the person who did it. It’s important to acknowledge employees’ contributions in your feedback, even when the final result wasn’t what was hoped for.?

Address problems directly. By fostering a culture of productive disagreement and debate, you can encourage deeper levels of understanding and trust and deal with issues before they escalate.?

Consider cultural context. Not everyone has the same comfort level when it comes to sharing their thoughts and feelings. You can’t force others to be open, and you shouldn’t try. Instead, create space for them to share if they decide they want to.??

Busting the Myths About Psychological Safety?

Effectively building a strong sense of psychological safety in the workplace also requires a clear understanding of what it isn’t. Here are some common myths:?

• Psychological safety = conflict avoidance. Wrong! When team members feel safe, they raise problems, debate ideas, and share openly because they aren’t afraid of being penalized for speaking up. All this must happen, of course, within the context of respect for colleagues and their psychological safety.? ?

• Psychological safety = coddling. This isn’t about overlooking poor performance. It means giving direct feedback so that people can learn from their mistakes—in a discussion that frames the issue as an opportunity for growth, not a sign of failure.

• Psychological safety = everyone’s equal responsibility. Collective buy-in may be important, but leaders have the biggest influence. They set the tone by being role models and signaling what behaviors will be rewarded and what won’t be tolerated.? ?
• Psychological safety = a solution only for struggling teams. Yes, it can be a huge benefit for teams that aren’t in sync, but psychological safety is important for all teams because it gives them the power to be more creative and focus on learning.??

Fostering psychological safety takes hard work, but it’s worth the effort. By using empathetic leadership to create a sense of psychological safety in the workplace, companies will benefit from the increased potential that comes from having a range of voices and perspectives.??

By harnessing the creativity and insights that come from diverse teams, organizations can boost innovation and financial performance—and, at long last, make good on the promise of building fair, equitable, and inclusive workplaces.?

For further insights on the importance of psychological safety in the workplace, check out our interviews with BCG experts Joe Davis , Dinesh Khanna , and Ulrike Schwarz-Runer .?

More of our latest thinking:?

• Psychological Safety Levels the Playing Field for Employees
• Inclusion Isn’t Just Nice. It’s Necessary. ?
• Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging in the Workplace ?
• Your Workforce Includes People with Disabilities. Does Your People Strategy? ?
• The So What from BCG: Can Joy and Productivity Coexist in the Workplace? ?