Hierarchy of Psychological Safety: How to cultivate psychological safety

In this edition, we’ll explore the Hierarchy of Psychological Safety, an 8-tier framework designed to guide you towards building a culture of inclusivity within your organisation.

We will also delve into the root-cause of the failure of many EDI initiatives, providing valuable insights for navigating these challenges effectively.

The Hierarchy of Psychological Safety

The Hierarchy of Psychological Safety sets out the 8 critical organisational responsibilities to cultivate psychological safety, embracing both internal and global dimensions.

There are 8 levels of responsibility. The first 5 levels delve into internal dimensions, while the final 3 levels transcend organisational boundaries.

Level 1: Individual Safety

Establishing a foundational level of psychological safety at the individual level, promoting authenticity, resilience and personal responsibility.

Components:

• Intrapersonal Awareness: Cultivate self-awareness to understand thoughts, emotions and triggers, laying the groundwork for personal growth.
• Embrace Your Authentic Self: Embrace and celebrate your Authentic Self within the workplace.
• Manage Emotions: Develop skills to manage negative thoughts and emotions constructively.
• Navigate Triggers: Develop tools to navigate challenging situations and moments of stress.
• Take Responsibility: Encourage personal responsibility and accountability for behaviour and actions in the workplace.

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Level 2: Interpersonal Safety

Nurturing psychological safety in one-to-one interactions, emphasising effective communication and interpersonal skills.

Components:

• Clarity in Message Communication: Develop skills to articulate messages clearly and precisely, ensuring your intended meaning is accurately conveyed.
• Accurate Message Reception: Equip individuals with the skills to receive messages accurately, promoting understanding and empathy.
• Optimise Communication: Develop skills to get the most out of exchanges with colleagues, enhancing the overall effectiveness of communication.

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Level 3: Team Dynamics Safety

Cultivating a psychologically safe team environment, where everyone in the team can thrive.

Components:

• Leverage Insights: Use knowledge about individuals, identifying commonalities and differences to enhance collaboration and productivity.
• Understand Boundaries: Acknowledge and respect personal and work boundaries for a balanced and healthy work environment.
• Value and Adapt to Preferences: Understand and appreciate each team member’s work and communication preferences, adapting collaboration methods to enhance productivity.
• Embrace Celebration Preferences: Embrace diversity in celebration preferences, creating a culture where achievements are acknowledged and celebrated.
• Appreciate Personality Differences: Understand and appreciate personality differences, leveraging strengths to enhance overall team performance.

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Level 4: Collaboration Safety

Creating an environment conducive to innovation and collaboration.

Components:

• Role Clarity: Understand roles, responsibilities and expectations to set the scene for effective collaboration.
• Safe Space Framework: Establish a safe space with defined ground rules and conflict resolution strategies to facilitate open communication and trust.
• Experimentation: Cultivate a culture that encourages experimentation, continuous learning and innovation.
• Diverse Perspectives: Value and leverage the diversity of perspectives, experiences, skill sets and expertise within the team.
• Active Participation: Encourage every team member to actively share ideas and potential solutions, promoting a collaborative and inclusive atmosphere. Acknowledge and reward collaborative efforts.
• Curiosity and Creativity: Create an environment that encourages curiosity and creativity, empowering team members to reflect and explore innovative solutions.

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Level 5: Organisational Safety

Extending psychological safety to the organisational level, underscoring an unwavering commitment to cultivate a safe and inclusive workplace culture for all employees.

Components:

• Clear Mission: Develop and communicate a mission and values that prioritise psychological safety to guide organisational behaviour.
• Leadership Commitment: Demonstrate unwavering leadership commitment to psychological safety.
• Inclusive Policies and Initiatives: Implement policies and execute specific initiatives prioritising and advancing inclusion and diversity, cultivating a culture that values and leverages diverse perspectives and experiences.?
• Resources and Training: Provide adequate resources and training to support individuals and teams in cultivating a psychologically safe workplace.
• Measurement and Action: Measure and monitor psychological safety, taking proactive action to address concerns or issues.
• Transparent Decision-Making: Uphold transparent and fair decision-making processes.
• Continuous Improvement: Continuously evaluate and improve upon the workplace culture to ensure that it is safe, inclusive and supportive for all employees.

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Level 6: External Relations Safety

Extending and influencing psychological safety standards in external collaborations, cultivating robust and thriving relationships with clients, stakeholders and partner organisations.

Components:

• Client and Stakeholder Advocacy: Actively advocate for and influence clients and stakeholders to prioritise psychological safety within their operations.
• Mutual Commitment to Standards: Establish mutual commitments with external partners to uphold psychological safety standards in all interactions and collaborations.
• Knowledge Sharing: Share knowledge and best practices related to psychological safety with external partners to create a collective commitment to well-being.
• Establish a Feedback Loop: Establish an ongoing feedback loop with external collaborators to collaboratively enhance psychological safety in all endeavours.

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Level 7: Community Safety

Elevating psychological safety to positively impact the wider community by proactively collaborating with the community through various initiatives, extending organisational commitment beyond boundaries.

Components:

• Community Well-being Advocacy: Advocate for and actively contribute to the enhancement of psychological safety within the community. Lead initiatives supporting psychological safety and resilience.
• Community Collaboration: Establish partnerships to enhance psychological safety in the wider community. Contribute to community-driven projects.
• Public Advocacy: Engage in public awareness campaigns focused on psychological safety. Advocate for policies and practices that prioritise psychological safety.
• Education Programs: Organise events celebrating diversity and inclusivity. Implement psychological safety education for community members. Prioritise psychological safety in community gatherings.
• Continuous Improvement: Commit to ongoing evaluation and improvement. Regularly update strategies for evolving community needs, ensuring sustained psychological safety.

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Level 8: Industry and Global Safety

Elevating psychological safety to exert a positive influence on industry dynamics and global contexts.

This level is dedicated to challenging and transforming industry and global workplace attitudes, actively working to dismantle outdated practices.

The ultimate objective is to establish a global landscape of workplaces and industries that prioritise and cultivate psychological safety.

Components:

• Industry Advocacy and Standards: Lead initiatives to advocate for, actively contribute to and influence the advancement of industry-wide standards for psychological safety, influencing positive change on a global scale.
• Global Trend Impact Assessment: Assess the impact of global industry trends and legislative changes, navigating legal frameworks worldwide to ensure alignment with emerging standards and regulations, prioritising psychological safety principles.
• Strategic Global Collaborations: Establish strategic collaborations on a global scale, fostering diverse partnerships to enhance psychological safety practices across different industries.
• Global Social Responsibility: Integrate a commitment to social responsibility into organisational practices on a global scale, acknowledging and addressing challenges at a broader societal level.

Common Mistake Organisations Make

In their pursuit of creating an inclusive culture, many organisations focus predominantly on Level 5 of the Hierarchy.

However, this fixation on Level 5 neglects crucial components essential for sustainable inclusivity.

Level 5: Organisational Safety, is indeed a vital stage where the seeds of an inclusive culture can take root. Here, psychological safety permeates the organisation, emphasising an unwavering dedication to cultivating a safe and inclusive workplace for all.

Yet, true inclusion thrives when every level of the Hierarchy is nurtured. Merely concentrating on Level 5 overlooks foundational elements crucial for success.

You need to start with the foundations.

Level 1: Individual Safety: Without individuals feeling safe to be themselves, inclusion efforts lack a solid groundwork. Unfortunately, many initiatives overlook this fundamental step.

Level 2: Interpersonal Safety: Elevating inclusion often falls short by neglecting to equip individuals with the skills necessary for meaningful one-on-one interactions. It's not solely about team dynamics; every interaction matters.

Level 3: Team Dynamics Safety: Prioritising inclusion without addressing the dynamics within teams risks undermining the creation of psychologically safe environments. Without this essential groundwork, inclusion efforts may struggle to gain traction.

To truly cultivate an inclusive culture, organisations must recognise and prioritise each level of the Hierarchy, ensuring that psychological safety permeates every aspect of the workplace.

Reflection

I invite you to step into the Hierarchy and ask yourself:

“At what level are we targeting our EDI initiatives? And why?”

How to Course-Correct

1. Don’t neglect psychological safety in favour of other initiatives. This will undermine the very essence of a truly inclusive culture.
2. To truly make a difference, shift the spotlight to Psychological Safety. It’s the catalyst for authentic inclusion. Prioritise psychological safety from the outset. It will lead to a significant shift in your overall organisational culture. This shift goes beyond just a surface-level approach to diversity and inclusion, as it addresses the core factors that enable individuals to thrive.
3. Start at the Foundation: Strengthen individual safety first. Ensure everyone feels psychologically safe to express their Authentic Self.
4. Bridge the Interpersonal Gap: Equip individuals with the skills for effective communication and collaboration in one-to-one interactions.
5. Leverage Team Insights: Understand team dynamics and leverage insights to create an environment where the team can thrive.
6. Evaluate Organisational Safety: Assess if psychological safety is deeply embedded at every level. If not, it's time to revisit and reinforce.

Psychological Safety Institute Updates

We are developing a few different ways you can engage with us. Please take a read to find out more!

Free Options

• This Psychological Safety 101 Newsletter!
• Psychological Safety Circle

A free private chat community for individuals interested in Psychological Safety. More on this coming soon!

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• Psychological Safety Institute Online Meet-Up

Our June Meet-Ups

• Wed 5 June at 10am BST
• Tues 18 June at 5pm BST

Free to attend - these are an opportunity to meet other people interested in Psychological Safety, to find out more about the Psychological Safety Institute, our methodology, the tools we use, our diagnostic tool, our training and to answer specific questions you have etc.

There is no agenda - we will discuss whatever you want to discuss in the session!

Click the links above to access the meeting links.

Low Cost Options

• Psychological Safety Forum

These are structured meetings dedicated to discussions, exchanges and activities related to psychological safety.

The Forum is a place where individuals can seek support and guidance related to psychological safety issues, and explore solutions. Participants may learn from each other's experiences, share best practices and explore strategies for promoting psychological safety in the workplace.

Fee of ￡20 per month to join the Psychological Safety Forum, with a 6 month minimum commitment.

DM me and I will add you to the waiting list.

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• The Authentic Organization: How to Create a Psychologically Safe Workplace.

Pre-orders now being taken:

www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1394232276

www.amazon.com/dp/1394232276

If you would like to discuss bulk orders, for your team, entire organisation or a big event you are hosting, drop me a DM.

Entry Level Options

• Psychological Safety Workshops

Level 1: Learn the Basics of Psychological Safety

Our Level 1 program is designed to equip you with the fundamental principles of Psychological Safety in just three interactive, inspirational sessions, 2.5 hours each. Earn CPD accreditation along the way!

• Session 1: Orientation (1 hour)
• Session 2: Introduction to Psychological Safety.

Delve deep into the essence of Psychological Safety: core concepts, myths, factors that influence PS, signs of PS issues in organisations, repercussions of its absence.

• Session 3: Authentic Self and Identity. Personalities and Power.

Explore the intersection of authenticity, identity, personality and power dynamics within the context of Psychological Safety - and how this affects how you show up at work, interpersonal dynamics and overall PS in the workplace!

• Session 4: Psychological Safety in Organisations

Discover how Psychological Safety manifests within organisational structures, examine where priorities lie, understand the Hierarchy of Psychological Safety, dissect the interplay between inclusion, Maslow's hierarchy of needs and psychosocial hazards.

Gain insights into crafting a compelling business case, defining roles and responsibilities and learn how to initiate those crucial conversations to cultivate a culture of Psychological Safety.

We'll finish up with signposting, next steps etc.

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Investment for the Program: ￡1,500

Dates: July 2024, days and times to be confirmed

Attendance: 1 session per week

DM me and I will add you to the waiting list.

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• Measure Psychological Safety

If you want to measure psychological safety either in specific teams, or your entire organisation, Lux, our Psychological Safety Diagnostic Tool, is ready and waiting for you!

We collaborated with the University of Cambridge on this - so you can be sure it is validated, tested and interrogated thoroughly!

Once the survey results are in from the survey, we provide bespoke recommendations on what to do to improve psy safety!

Investment:

Individual teams: ￡2,500

Organisations with fewer than 1,000 employees: ￡5,000

Send me a DM or email to [email protected] if you want to set up a meeting to discuss a Lux roll-out.

Ready to ignite change?

Take action today to build psychological safety in your workplace.

Reach out to learn more: www.ThePSI.Global

For more valuable content, follow me:

@GinaBattye

CEO & Founder, Psychological Safety Institute