Is psychological safety and belonging the same thing?

I had always assumed so. In fact I’ve often used the terms interchangeably without thinking. Much as the term diversity & inclusion typically now describes one unified corporate activity, I’ve often blurred psychological safety and belonging together, under the umbrella of ‘feeling safe enough within the group to speak up, raise a concern, ask a question etc’

But I’ve now realized they are two very distinct processes or states.

My lack of belonging increased my sense of psychological safety

This insight occurred during a past project. As an external consultant I was an outsider, not part of the team and with no sense of belonging. And that was fine. ?So when I watched a video from one of their leaders which I felt might not inspire clients, I spoke up and said so. Not having a sense of belonging made it easy for me to speak up. My lack of belonging increased my sense of psychological safety, so I felt safe to speak up. With no sense of belonging, I had nothing to lose from expressing my thoughts.

Having spoken up, I then learnt from conversations that a number of the team had also had the same thought, but they hadn’t spoken up. Their stronger need for belonging (and of course security) had reduced their sense of psychological safety. Because they wanted and needed to remain safely within the group, they remained quiet.

The risk of being ostracized from the group can be one of the strongest social threats

We know from psychology and neuroscience that the risk of being ostracized from the group can be one of the strongest social threats, driving powerful reactions and responses, often non-consciously. You only have to think of the reaction your body has to public speaking, to recognize this particular threat response in action. Which unfortunately makes creating an environment of psychological safety at work all the harder to achieve.

Amy Edmonson’s definition of psychological safety (from The Fearless Organization) is “.. a belief that one will not be punished or humiliated for speaking up with ideas, questions, concerns or mistakes and that the team is safe for interpersonal risk taking ..". We might also want to add “A belief that one will not be ….forced out of the group”.

Psychological safety and belonging are two distinct states, which may sometimes work in opposition

Forward-thinking organisations are now rebranding their D&I depts as Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging. But with psychological safety and belonging being two distinct states, which may sometimes work in opposition, we might want to carefully consider the belonging aspect to ensure that it’s not working against the interests of psychological safety.

If we only focus on building belonging, that evolutionary drive that we all have to avoid group rejection, might be the very thing that stops team members speaking up, raising concerns and highlighting mistakes. Even with our very best intentions to build psychological safety.

The title and remit of the average D&I Dept might have just got bigger.

Building psychological safety and belonging is tricky but possible. Reach out if you need support.

Debbie is Chief Thinking Officer at?www.ThinkingSpace.training

She delivers workshops and webinars on?Building Psychological Safety & Belonging