Innovation stifles when employees don’t feel psychologically safe

Why your employees need psychological safety and how to create it

Psychological safety isn’t a term you hear very often. It’s not spoken about in the staff room. Or mentioned in board meetings. And you don’t hear of it by the coffee machine either. So what is it? And how does it benefit your organisation??

In today’s fast-paced world, work needs communication, coordination and collaboration to succeed. It needs a human eye and human interaction. I think we can all agree that the most exciting concepts are born when people get together and talk about their ideas. Ideas that are then bounced around the table, pulled apart and put back together again. For this to happen, people need to feel safe to share their thoughts and feelings in the workplace.?

Gallup data reports only three in 10 employees believe their ideas and opinions count at work. Imagine how many ideas go unspoken because someone didn’t think their idea was worth talking about??

So how do you create that space for employees to openly speak their mind and share ideas? A space where collaboration is celebrated and reasonable risk-taking is encouraged? A place where everyone’s voice matters?

Well, it all starts with psychological safety.

So what is it?

A psychologically safe culture nurtures openness and camaraderie. It makes sure people feel safe to share their thoughts and feelings without fear of being shut down, humiliated or punished for speaking up. It makes everyone feel seen and valued.?

Why is it important??

There are countless benefits to create a psychologically safe workplace. Here are a few that stand out to us.

Improves employee wellbeing?

Mental health plays a huge part in employee performance. But when you give your employees the space to be themselves, they’ll bring their best self to work and won’t feel held back.

Enhances employee engagement?

This could be in and out of the workplace, by the water cooler or in a meeting. People are way more like to share ideas and collaborate organically if they’ve been given a safe space to do so.?

Boosts team performance?

When employees are happy and trusted at work, they’re going to perform at an optimal level, which will then lead to praise and a boost in team spirit.?

Reduces turnover

Through respect, trust and camaraderie, you’ll create a safe and supported culture within your organisation. People will proud of their workplace and will naturally want to stick around.?

Makes everyone feel included and valued

Safe workplaces welcome diverse teams and give everyone the space to express themselves, regardless of race, colour, gender, background or sexual orientation.?

Tips for building psychologically safety

Organisational Behavioural Scientist and Harvard Business School Professor, Amy Edmondson, is an expert on psychological safety. Here are three simple things she says leaders can do to build psychological safety in their workplace.?

1. Frame the work as a learning problem not an execution. This means, shaping the way your team sees and understands the task at hand. Let them know that there’s uncertainty ahead, and you’ll need everyone’s brains and voices in the game. This will create a rationale for speaking up.
2. Acknowledge your own fallibility. Everyone’s human, everyone can make mistakes and be wrong. Let your team know “I may miss something, so speak up”. This creates more safety and trust within your team.
3. Model curiosity and ask lots of questions. This creates a necessity for people to speak up. Ask the question, leave it long enough, someone will speak out.

Do you already practice psychological safety? If not, how are you going to push radical, refreshing candour within your teams??