How to Boost Performance with Psychological Safety

Though many companies and managers go to extraordinary lengths to boost their teams’ performance, only a fraction seem to accept this simple fact:?high-performing teams require psychological safety.

From the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger to the Volkswagen scandal, history is full of really smart people who didn’t feel safe enough to speak up and avert a crisis.

Study after study indicates that a lack of psychological safety breeds fear, risk-aversion, groupthink, low engagement and ultimately leads to low performance and terrible results.

My own research led me to believe that psychological safety is one of the key factors that contribute to a sense of belonging at work , a powerful driver of performance and engagement.

So, what is psychological safety?

One of my guests on The CultureLab Podcast , Harvard Business School Professor, Amy Edmondson , defines psychological safety in the following way:

Psychological safety is a belief that one will not be punished or humiliated for speaking up with ideas, questions, concerns or mistakes.

Another guest and psychological safety researcher, Timothy Clark , defines it as:

The environment of rewarded vulnerability.

From Edmondson’s, Clark’s, and my own research to Google’s Project Aristotle , the conclusions are consistent:

Psychological safety drives a sense of belonging, enables open dialogue and honesty, supports the diversity of thought, allows for risk-taking and generates creativity.

And let’s make one thing clear:

Psychological safety isn't about lowering the bar, being cozy, or doling out empty compliments. It's about building a workplace where respect, trust, and openness are the norm, and where speaking up doesn't feel like walking on eggshells.

Is it safe on your team?

If you are not sure if you have an issue with psychological safety in your team, ask yourself the five questions below:

1. Do you feel comfortable taking risks and making mistakes in this team?
2. Are you confident that your opinions and ideas are valued and heard in team discussions?
3. Do you trust your teammates to support you in challenging situations or conflicts?
4. Do you feel comfortable giving constructive feedback to your teammates and receiving it from them?
5. Do you believe that you can be your authentic self at work without fear of judgment or discrimination?

These questions can serve as a valuable starting point to gauge the level of psychological safety within a team.

If you (and your team members) can look at each of the statements above and say: “Yes, that’s definitely us!”, no need to read further! You already know how to create psychological safety.

If, however, not all of the statements are an accurate description of what’s currently going on in your team, then read on…

Creating a psychologically safe environment

While most of us are sold on the idea of creating a psychologically safe environment, very few are clear on how to go about creating one.

Here are three areas that you can focus on to start creating a psychologically safe environment for your team:

1. Be a role model

Building psychological safety starts with you regardless of your position in the corporate hierarchy. It’s because people follow people - the ones they interact with most frequently.

To lay the foundations, ask yourself:

What can I do to help others move along their belonging journey and help them feel seen, included, known, understood, and valued? You can find some examples in the previous issue of the Culture Craft newsletter .

Additionally:

• Address the elephant in the room. When something is obviously bothering the team or affecting performance, tackle it head-on instead of skirting the issue. This encourages open dialogue and demonstrates that it's safe to confront even uncomfortable topics.
• Acknowledge your own fallibility, sharing your mistakes, and letting everyone learn from them.
• Admit when you don't know. Sometimes, the best way to create safety is to admit your limitations. Saying, "I don't know, but let's find out together," is far more empowering than pretending to have all the answers.
• Ask for feedback and advice and when you get it, take it with humility, curiosity, and open-mindedness.
• Be curious and ask a lot of questions. This way you demonstrate that you value others' opinions and that not having all the answers is the most natural thing to do.
• Celebrate the journey, not just the outcome: make it a point to commend the hard work, collaboration, learning, and creativity that go into achieving goals, not just the success that comes at the end.
• Validate feelings and perspectives. When your colleagues share their feelings or viewpoints, validate them. You don't have to agree, but acknowledging that their feelings are legitimate creates a safe space for emotional honesty.

2. Shift your focus

Creating a psychologically safe environment requires a shift of focus:

• From efficiency to effectiveness.?Encourage your team members to look for the best ways to achieve the desired results, instead of blindly going down the efficiency route. Focusing on efficiency has been proven to discourage dissent, creative thinking and problem-solving. Plus, executing a faulty plan as efficiently as possible has never benefited anyone. Except for the competition.
• From compliance to commitment.?Compliance can lead to blindly following arbitrary rules that don’t make sense to anyone. Commitment is achieved by discussing the “who”, “why” and the “what” – before collectively getting to the “how”. When your team members are clear on your team purpose and have a say in the conversation about solutions, you make it safe for them to engage and meaningful to participate.
• From harmony to constructive debate.?Many teams value harmony above all else. True psychological safety, however, is not about agreeing with each other – it’s about being able to express your views freely and knowing that they will be acknowledged, respected and considered by others. Your role as a manager is to encourage constructive debate and make sure that all points of view are considered when making important decisions.
• From results to learning.?Yes, it would be great to win that big account or finish the project on time and on budget. But there is one thing that is even more important than the actual outcome – what you are learning from it. In the long run, it won’t matter whether you experienced a success or a failure today. What will matter, though, is whether you have learned from it.

3. Sweat the small stuff

When it comes to creating a feeling of psychological safety, remind yourself of the?broken windows theory ?– it’s often the seemingly unimportant details that cause people to feel unsafe. So make sure that your team has some rules in place. Here’s an example of rules from one of our CultureBrained Community Members:

• No interruptions. Listen up and wait your turn.
• Feedback matters. Got ideas to make things better? We're all ears. Tell us how we can rock even harder.
• No shaming or blaming: Instead of pointing fingers or making someone feel bad about their actions, we focus on understanding what happened, why it happened, and how we can prevent it from happening again.
• No such thing as a stupid question: Ask away! Looking for information or clarification is a valuable way of learning, growing and solving problems.

You get the idea.

Putting in the work to create psychological safety in your team will pay off in a stronger sense of belonging better work climate, lower levels of stress and burn-out rates, increased engagement, better solutions to complex problems and, ultimately, in better overall results.

If you are serious about your people, your career and your business, making your workplace psychologically safe is one of the best ways to ensure success.

The Takeaway: Your Actions Make the Difference

Let's cut to the chase: psychological safety isn't just a "nice-to-have," it's a game-changer for any team that's serious about success. From top brass to the intern, everyone plays a part in making this happen.

So, before your next meeting or email, ask yourself: are you adding to a culture of safety or undermining it? The answer matters—a lot.

If you're keen on leveling up your team's performance, trust, and well-being, there's no time like the present to act on building a psychologically safe environment.

Want more?

Listen to my interview with Amy Edmondson

Listen to my interview with Timothy R. Clark

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