Fostering a Winning Workplace: Strategies for Psychological Safety

Do your people engage in open and honest communication? Do they take risks, share ideas and admit when they make mistakes? Do the best ideas often beat the loudest ideas? Do the best employees stay? If the answer is mostly no, there's a good chance your workplace lacks psychological safety!

Psychological safety is something that many teams and organisations strive to foster but seldom accomplish.

What is Psychological Safety?

Psychological safety is a term coined by Harvard Business School professor Amy Edmondson. It refers to a shared belief that the team is safe for interpersonal risk-taking.

Psychological safety is an inclusive space, a fear-free zone, a learning environment, and a collaborative culture all rolled into one. Here are some strategies for promoting psychological safety in the workplace:

Role Model Positive Behaviours

Demonstrate Vulnerability: Share your feelings and experiences where appropriate to show it's okay to be open about emotions.

Demonstrate Empathy: Be sensitive to other people's emotions and perspectives. Show others how to be supportive without judgment.

Demonstrate Presence: Give others your complete attention, be mindful of biases and withhold judgment.

Demonstrate Approachability: Ensure you are accessible and approachable to employees at all levels. Maintain an open-door policy.

Define Clear Roles & Expectations

Set the Stage: Work with the team to outline each individual's role, responsibilities and what is expected of them. This clarity helps everyone understand their importance and how they fit into the bigger picture.

Define a Team Charter: Work with the team to create a charter outlining the team's values, goals, and norms. Ensure that everyone has a say, as the charter will serve as a reference point for maintaining alignment and shared understanding.

Shared Accountability: Work with the team to define behavioural norms for holding one another accountable for a safe, respectful, and inclusive environment. Address any deviations promptly to maintain trust and respect.

Tackle Toxic Behaviours:??Implement a zero-tolerance policy for bullying, harassment, or discrimination. Be quick to address toxic behaviours or harmful actions that erode trust and security.

Encourage Open Communication

Demonstrate Transparency: Openly share information, decisions, and reasoning where appropriate. This helps to build trust and demonstrates that it's okay to be transparent.

Promote Transparency: Create a space for employees to share concerns, ideas, and feedback without fear of ridicule or punishment. Act on concerns, ideas, and feedback to show that it is valued and taken seriously.

Encourage Inclusivity & Diverse Perspectives

Appreciate Diverse Opinions: Ensure everyone has an equal voice by actively seeking and encouraging input from quieter individuals. Let everyone feel their contributions are valued.

Facilitate Respectful Discussions: Set clear discussion guidelines to ensure they remain respectful and productive. Create an environment where differing opinions are valued and considered.

Create Learning Zones

Encourage Experimentation: Create safe spaces where employees can test new ideas without fear of failure. Encourage experimentation and celebrate both successes and learning experiences from failures.

Celebrate Progress: Encourage employees to think out of the box and take calculated risks by recognising and celebrating progress as much as outcomes.

Normalise Productive Failure

Demonstrate Growth Through Failure: Share your experiences with failure and what you learned from them. Encourage others to view failures as opportunities for growth and development.

Highlight Growth Through Failure: Promote lessons learned from failure. Show that it's okay to innovate and take calculated risks.

Avoid a Blame Culture: Promote a culture where lessons learned from failures are shared and celebrated.?Encourage collective analysis and problem-solving instead of pointing fingers when things go wrong.

In Conclusion

Psychological safety doesn't happen overnight, but by implementing these strategies, you can create a workplace that fosters psychological safety, encourages innovation, and supports the well-being of all employees.