The Reason that YOUR Team is just Average

Oh no! You look at your calendar for tomorrow and you see that weekly meeting you absolutely dread. The leader of your department hasn't done a good job of creating a strong team dynamic as they seem to lack some self-awareness and skills on how to build a cohesive team. She is hyper-focused on the data and getting results and hasn't invested time in team building and creating connection opportunities amongst team members. These meetings are very rigid and intimidating. One of your colleagues even went so far as to call this weekly meeting 'scary'. Yikes!

In fact, In a recent meeting, someone spoke up and shared an idea that challenged hers. She wanted nothing to do with it, and made the 'offending party' regret their contribution by dismissing the idea in front of everyone as silly, embarrassing the employee. Everyone in the room was quiet and you could tell that no one wanted to be singled out as they kept their eyes down. No one felt safe to share, to fail, to connect, or that fellow team members 'had their back'. The 'team' was actually just a group of individual contributors who performed at a very mediocre level as a team. Lackluster results were directly tied to a lack of 'psychological safety'. The team leader was to blame.

Psychological safety is an essential factor in building a successful and high-performing team, as shown by various studies. Psychological safety is defined as the shared belief that the team is safe for interpersonal risk-taking. It is the feeling that team members are comfortable being themselves, expressing their thoughts and ideas, and making mistakes without fear of punishment or rejection. In other words, it is the feeling that team members can be vulnerable with one another without fear of negative consequences.

Psychological safety is essential because it fosters an environment of trust, respect, and open communication. When team members feel safe, they are more likely to share their ideas, offer feedback, and collaborate with others. This leads to better decision-making, increased innovation, and better problem-solving. A psychologically safe team is also more likely to feel satisfied and engaged in their work, which can lead to higher productivity and overall job satisfaction.

Conversely, when team members do not feel psychologically safe, they are less likely to speak up or share their ideas. They may also avoid taking risks or making mistakes for fear of negative consequences, which can lead to stagnation and a lack of innovation. Additionally, team members may feel less engaged in their work, which can lead to decreased productivity and job dissatisfaction.

Psychological safety is especially important in today's fast-paced and constantly changing work environments. In these environments, teams need to be able to adapt quickly to new challenges and ideas. A psychologically safe team is better equipped to handle change and uncertainty because they are more willing to take risks, make mistakes, and learn from them.

It's the job of a team leader to create an environment of trust and connection where people do feel safe to share and to ask for help. For some people, like our leader cited at the beginning of this article, it's not a natural process. The good news is that anyone can learn how to create a strong team dynamic if they invest in learning the skills and techniques necessary in doing so.

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Troy Jacobson is an Executive Leadership Coach and partner in the 3-Pillars Performance Group. Contact him at [email protected] to discuss your business, team building and leadership needs.

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