Leaders aren't using a proven method for engaging employees. The reason why isn't what you think it is.

Companies that can innovate while keeping their employees engaged will be the ones that thrive in tomorrow's business world. Employees are more fed up with fake culture, insincere leadership, and poor treatment. They want an inclusive work environment that supports them and allows them to be their authentic self.

There is a single concept that can provide all of these benefits at once: psychological safety. Coined by Harvard professor Amy Edmondson, psychological safety refers to the climate in which employees feel safe to take risks, voice their opinions, and challenge the status quo without the fear of negative consequences.

However, despite its proven benefits, psychological safety is not as widely adopted in leadership as it should be. Why is that?

If you ask a chatbot, it has some pretty reasonable suggestions:

1. Misunderstanding of Psychological Safety - it's not just being kind

2. Fear of Vulnerability - leaders want to be infallible

3. Organizational Culture - blame and judgment are already ingrained

4. Fear of Liability - people speaking up may cause issues

5. Lack of Training - people don't know how to use this concept

6. Measurement Challenges - people can't track it easily

7. Fear of Losing Control - leaders don't want to delegate

8. Lack of Role Models - haven't seen it in action before

I think there is a more fundamental issue at play here. Even when people know they should do something, it is really hard to change their behavior to accomplish it. Especially when that thing has served you well up to that point.

In many cases, the traits that got someone to a position of leadership are counter to psychological safety.

Maybe they were the expert in their particular technical field - now as a leader how do they leverage their expertise to mentor people instead of just jumping straight to the answers. If everyone isn't brought along on the journey, they may feel like they were put on the sideline.

Maybe someone was promoted because they had excellent intuition about how to prioritize tasks. Now that intuition might look like just overruling their reports because as a leader they "just know better."

To foster psychological safety, leaders must utilize the unique skills they have while ensuring that the team members they lead feel included, listened to, and validated. That is a double challenge sometimes because they have to walk a very fine tightrope. One the one side is making progress using their expertise, and on the other is balancing the feelings and emotions of the team.

For one, there may not be time to spend getting everyone on board. That can be an occasional excuse, but if it is repeated day in and day out, then the mentorship and team building is clearly not a priority.

It may be that the choice to step back, slow down, or bring along someone is inherently challenging for someone and they struggle with it. That would make perfect sense because it isn't necessarily related to any of the skills that got them to the position they have in the first place. In that case, it is pure luck if the leader happens to be able to do it.

To build a workplace culture that values psychological safety, it has to be at the core of the daily interactions. People must be mindful of how their words and actions will facilitate the impulse to take risks or speak up. Leaders especially have to be open to allowing some wiggle room around their expertise and judgment. People have to set aside previous interactions and patterns. All of these behaviors could require unlearning certain habits.

The skills that foster psychological safety are all ones that have similarly been studied in parenting. The research on parenting behaviors such as emotional intelligence and growth mindsets are well known, and just like in the workplace, not utilized nearly as much. Providing a safe space for kids has many positives such as building trust and developing long lasting bonds, yet it is still elusive for many parents.

The reason is the same: changing these behaviors isn't easy for people to do.

Psychological safety can be a powerful driver for workplace culture if it is adopted and bought into. The reasons why it isn't more utilized are wide ranging, but I believe at its core relate to the difficulty of people having to change behaviors that have served them. Developing the ability to choose how you act and respond enables you to foster the environment that is conducive to innovation and engagement.