Is Your Leadership Promoting Safety?

Recently, I was watching a video in which a leader was trying to quell concern and anxiety about a change; instead, their actions just elevated those feelings. As people posed questions, the leader became defensive.

As the video continued, you could see people withdrawing from the conversation. It no longer felt 'safe' to speak up and express concerns. People left the call feeling unseen, unheard and increasingly anxious.

You've likely seen a similar situation unfold at some stage in your career.

In Australia, leaders and business owners are now legally obligated to manage the risk of psychosocial hazards in the workplace. As Safe Work Australia explains , this is any behaviour that can harm a person's mental health. It can include job demands, bullying, and lack of role clarity.

However, putting aside the legal obligations, creating a psychologically safe workplace is good business practice.

International studies reveal the increase in mental health issues, with experts warning the ramifications will extend far into the future. This impact has financial consequences, with the World Health Organization estimating that depression and anxiety cost the global economy over $1 trillion in lost productivity.

Workplaces now recognise the criticality of having practices supporting and promoting a mentally healthy workplace, of which psychological safety is a critical component.

Defining Psychological Safety

In 2012, Google started research—code-named Project Aristotle—to figure out what makes the best teams. Initially, they thought it would be about the smarts of the group members, but in time, they realised it had far more to do with how the group connected and engaged.

A year into the five-year study, they discovered that having explicit group norms was fundamental. The next step was to figure out what team norms mattered the most. Further investigation and research concluded that at the core was the need for psychological safety, a term coined by Harvard Professor Amy Edmondson.

Writing in the Harvard Business Review in 2019 she said "Psychological safety isn't about being nice. It's about giving candid feedback, openly admitting mistakes, and learning from each other". It is knowing your team and leader won't embarrass, reject or punish you, and where there is mutual trust and respect. It is an environment where people feel comfortable to be their authentic self.

The Leadership Deficit

In many workplaces, those requirements are missing. A Gallup report found that 82 per cent of employees see their leaders as uninspiring, only 15 per cent of employees are engaged at work, while another study found only one in three employees strongly agree that they trust the leadership of their organisation.

Research in Australia by the University of Wollongong found half of all employees will experience workplace bullying (including verbal abuse, humiliation, social isolation, withholding information and spreading rumours) during their careers. Beyond Blue's 2017 State of Mental Health in The Workplace report revealed that 91% of employees believe mental health in the workplace is important, yet only 52% believe their workplace is mentally healthy.

Caring comes first

To create a psychologically safe environment, leaders need to care about the welfare of those around them—be they work colleagues, stakeholders, or customers. In doing this, they don't always put their needs first; rather, they consider the needs of others and take accountability for the impact of their actions.

It's easy to characterise a caring organisational culture as one that is soft, and not focused on profitable and sustainable outcomes. However, when employees genuinely care about the customer, they will strive to ensure they receive the service or product that meets their needs. When customers are happy, organisational growth follows.

Build the framework

Next, frame the work and ensure everyone in the team is on the same page. You want to establish common goals, clarity on challenges, and expectations on dealing with failure and uncertainty.

As the leader, set clear goals, responsibilities and ways of working together, and ensure your expectations about workload and deadlines are realistic.

Challenge yourself and consider: How are you creating clarity rather than confusion about work, deadlines, dependencies and challenges?

Welcome participation

Accept your role in being curious, humble, open to ideas and having a growth mindset. Be willing to ask questions, listen, and have mechanisms for gathering input and facilitating discussions with your team members. You want to create the best environment for your team members to share their thoughts and perspectives.

Ask yourself: Are you creating an environment where everyone participates and complex questions and challenging conversations are embraced?

Set the standard

This approach only works if you set the standard, follow it, and behave consistently. Your team will watch what you say, do, and don't do and say, and they will notice inconsistencies.

Also, praise people for their efforts and remove the stigma often attached to failure by focusing on learning and growth.

When you are inconsistent and unreliable, and your processes aren't transparent, your team will see a failure to act as an indication that there is no standard or that it's inconsistently applied. That will impact how they feel, what they say and don't say to you, their behaviour, and the level of trust across the team.

Check yourself: What actions have you implemented to create a psychologically safe work environment? Are those actions consistent and fair?

Support healthy practices

Lastly, be open with your team about your pressure points and what you do to manage stress and maintain a healthy lifestyle. It helps if you, as the leader, role model self-care behaviours.

Encourage your team members to take care of themselves. For example, taking regular breaks during the day, noticing and managing workplace stress, and having a safe space for your team to discuss how they feel and what's going on for them.

Ask your team members: What practices do we need to ensure we are best balancing effort and outcomes?

Nothing will work at work if your team members do not feel safe to be their best. Making that happens starts with you.

Getting you ready for?tomorrow, today?

Michelle Gibbings is a workplace expert, the award-winning author of three books, and a global keynote speaker. She's on a mission to help leaders, teams and organisations create successful workplaces - where people thrive and progress is accelerated.