How much you think you know about Psychological Safety?

Imagine you are in a meeting with a leader and a group of your colleagues. There is a sensitive subject in discussion, and suddenly one of the team members shares an unconventional input. The room falls silent, and it’s possible to feel the energy of tension building up. You start to feel anxious, wondering if you should speak up as well, while also noticing some of your colleagues holding back and hesitant to share their thoughts.

It’s possible to realize how people go on silent not only to avoid saying things which they might later regret, but also because they are afraid of being criticized and/or not accepted.

In this article, we will explore the concept of psychological safety, why it matters, and I will share a few hints on how can we foster this in our organizations. Let’s dive in and enjoy the ride!

Let us first approach the definition of psychological safety from a different angle, with the intention to trigger a moment of reflection, and not so much as a fixed or “done & dusted” definition.

Psychological safety is the magic of turning individual fears into collective courage, in a rare combination of empathy, trust and vulnerability which transforms workplaces into incubators of innovation, where employees feel free to take risks, experiment new ideas, and stretch beyond their limits. It goes beyond the feeling of comfort and security, by triggering a sense of liberation to pursue one’s goals and dreams without fear of judgement or punishment. It’s considered to be the secret ingredient to transform a group of strangers into high-performing teams, where each member feels valued, respected and supported. It’s the antidote to toxic cultures, where fear, blame and shame reign supreme.

In 2012, Google launched the Project Aristotle, which aimed to identify the factors that contribute to high-performing teams. The study involved analyzing data gathered from surveys, interviews and observations of team behavior of around 200 teams. One of the key findings of the study, was the importance of psychological safety for the team performance. The teams which had a higher level of psychological safety were more likely to :

• Take more risks, as per the comfort from team members to share their ideas and opinions, even if they were different from the norm.
• Be more innovative, as the team members felt free to experiment and try new things which led to more creative solutions.
• Learn from mistakes, as when things went wrong, the team members felt safe admitting their mistakes and working together to find solutions.
• Increased productivity, considering the levels of efficiency and on the comfort team members have in asking for help and offer feedback to one another.

"As long as everyone got a chance to talk, the team did well. But if only one person or a small group spoke all the time, the collective intelligence declined" ?

The study also found that psychological safety was more important for the team performance compared to factors such as team size, seniority and individual intelligence.?

What are some of the triggers which can negatively impact psychological safety ?

When I was reflecting on some of the triggers of an organizational psychological safety, I thought to myself of not wanting to mention those which the majority of the people might be aware of such as micromanagement, lack of trust, but others which might not be as noticeable as they should be. But before going there, I believe it’s important for us to reflect on the statement from an article from Mckinsey & Company.?

"Positive team climate is the most important driver of psychological safety and most likely to occur when leaders demonstrate supportive, consultative behaviors, then begin to challenge their teams."

Furthermore, and based on literature, research and my own observations and experience, it’s interesting to notice how unaware leaders are, and how much of a challenge it is for them to have an end-to-end view on what is happening at core of people, and what are the triggers for people to become unhappy, demotivated, not doing their work properly, resistant to change, not doing trainings, falling into a state of complacency and son on. I look forward to the thought process leaders are invited to embrace based on the triggers below.

The dangerous lie

The 1st trigger I would like to share is what I consider to be one of the biggest lies an organization can be exposed to, which is when it believes it already has a psychological safety work environment. It’s factual that what we don’t monitor, measure or control, we will not be able to manage properly. Assuming psychological safety is already present in the workplace without measuring, actively working to maintain and improve it, will surely lead to complacency and lack of progress.

The infinite work hours concept

If people feel they are constantly under pressure, exposed to an abnormal volume of tasks with unrealistic and non negotiable deadlines and not given the resources, support and/or recognition they need to succeed in their roles, this creates a sense of stress, anxiety, disrespect and not feeling valued. This links to the creation of a culture of overwork and burnout, where people are expected to be connected & available 24/7, which results in fear of being interpreted as “Weak” or not committed to work, whenever they succumb to work burnout.?

Policies & Rules to keep discipline and work structure

If an organization has policies and procedures which strictly dictates how tasks should be performed without allowing for any flexibility and/or suggestions, this can create a culture where people feel micromanaged and disempowered. Similarly, if these procedures are overly complex or bureaucratic, it creates an environment of frustration and disengagement, which can lead to lack of psychological safety.?

Cultural reality check and the build up of a limiting belief

In our country, there is a strong emphasis on hierarchy and respect for authority figures concentrated at the top who detain all the power of decision. These limiting beliefs, which were built throughout years of negative & painful experiences, create an environment where people are afraid to speak up or challenge one another, specially the ones at higher hierarchical levels, for fear of being interpreted as being disrespectful or insubordinate.?

Disengaged decision-making

When Leadership takes decisions which are expected to cause disruption, without actively and deeply listening to people and communicate properly, this results in a decrease of morale, productivity and an increase of disengagement, which contributes for a resistance to change and degradation of psychological safety, specially when the responsibility to live up with the consequences of such disruption is instilled & ownership transferred from Leadership to the team members.

So, what could be the great brain tease??

Creating psychological safety in organizations involves a range of strategies and actions, some which are conventional ones such as encourage open communication, lead by example, build trust, recognize and celebrate success, clear goals, bla bla bla!

Please don’t get me wrong, as I don’t want to diminish or minimize the above mentioned strategies which can be efficient to address the problem, but the starting point is how much deliberate and genuine organizations want to be in building a pathway of continuous improvement on the subject of Psychological safety.

“Fail fast, learn fast”

The idea is to create a culture where first time or once off failures are accepted and even celebrated. Yeah! ... read it again... I carefully wrote “first time or once off”, so that we don’t create the practice of celebrating recurrent failures, as it’s a clear indication we are not learning our lessons and evolving.

Life is not about success and beautiful stories, and in order to change the cultural stigma around failure and encourage a more open and honest conversation around it, Fuckup Nights movement was created, for the entrepreneurs, innovators and creative minds to share their stories of failure in a supportive and non-judgmental environment. By doing so, this initiative helps to not only deconstruct the negative belief around failure, but also promote growth mindset, and continuous learning from mistakes.

By applying this concept internally in organizations, employees feel comfortable to discuss their failures and what they learned from them, and they become more likely to take risks and be innovative, which leads to an increased trust, collaboration and innovation.

The question is what is the priority this will be given from an organizational perspective, among all the workshops and meetings which are already happening on a regular basis?

Mistakes Monthly Hall of Fame

“You can take all the credit in the world for the things you do right, as long as you take ownership for the things you’ve done wrong” (Simon Sinek)

By recognizing and award the individuals who submit the most valuable mistakes, creates an environment where people feel comfortable admitting their mistakes and sharing what they’ve learned. It goes beyond only documenting and create a repository of documentation.

Conduct “Fearless Feedback” campaign

There is so much more than just a “Good Morning” and/or a “How are you?”. It’s important to create a safe space and supportive work environment as a foundation for fearless feedback practice to be sustainable in the long term.

Why not start a challenge where employees must compliment at least one colleague every single day, preferably starting with a face-to-face conversation, and then formalizing through the tool of choice from the organization? To whom have we expressed our gratitude today for the amazing work, attitude, support we receive? This will contribute for us to create a culture of positivity and encourage employees to communicate with each other.

As there are organizations which are still in the early ages in creating a culture of feedback or for those which are transitioning from a culture where feedback was not allowed, why not put in place the concept of “feedback drop box”, where employees can drop suggestions, concerns and/or feedback without having to reveal their identity. The idea behind this suggestion is to start by creating a culture of giving feedback without retaliation first.

Once the practice of giving feedback is well enculturated, another step would be “One day as me”, where employees are given the opportunity to swap roles with their colleagues for a day in a role reversal concept. This will help build empathy and understanding among employees, and promote open and transparent communication. Several years ago, during one of my scheduled days off, I made the decision to spend an entire day at my wife’s workplace - a Kindergarten. My goal was to gain a better understanding and insights on the demands of working with children for an extended period of time. Looking back, this experience was one of the most profound I have ever had. It allowed me develop a newfound appreciation, respect and empathy for the critical and impactful work she and others in her profession do every day.

Randomize the “Ask Me Anything” sessions

About two months ago, I was invited for a “Leadership Talk” session as an initiative from one of the teams which don’t belong to the portfolio I serve. While the session was for me to present myself as a Leader, it ended up being an insightful session where I could also learn a lot. I believe “Ask Me Anything” can be an exercise not only destined to know your leaders, but also to get to know each individual in an organization. By knowing each other, we are creating an environment of openness, transparency, trust and respect, while also increasing the engagement levels.

Mentorship Exchange

I am grateful and honored to be one of the individuals who receive quite a lot of requests to serve as a mentor. The beauty of mentorship is when you realize it’s like a beautiful dance, where in some occasions we mentor and in other scenarios we are being the mentored. Apart from helping, valuing and support the other person, we have a platform of continuous growth in terms of understanding, perspective and empathy for the work being done by the other person.

A wrap up

Psychological safety is not just a buzzword, a nice-to-have or a checklist item, but a strategic imperative which leads to better decision-making, increased productivity and higher employee retention rates. It’s a transformative force that unlocks human potential and unleashes organizational success. It’s the warm embrace of vulnerability as the birthplace for creativity, curiosity and innovation, and the key to unlock the ability to speak up and the human potential to unleash organizational success in today's complex and ever-changing world

Before I finish, I will leave you with four questions for your individual reflection and, once you’re done, a collective reflection on the questions below:

1. What can we count on each other for?
2. What is our team's purpose?
3. What is the reputation we aspire to have?
4. What do we need to do differently to achieve that reputation and fulfill our purpose?

We are what we practice, and if psychological safety represents a good predictor on how the organization is functioning, how is each of our organizations functioning? The answer to that question establishes the bridge on what is the status of psychological safety in those organizations.

With #love #gratitude and #respect

Pedro