Psychological Safety: What It Is and How to Promote It in your Organization
Psychological safety is the shared belief that a team is safe space for risk-taking. Psychological safety rests on the idea that the climate of a team is one that is safe for showing your true self, asking questions, highlighting concerns, and sharing ideas without fearing judgement from others. Unsurprisingly, psychological safety is essential to the success of teams. High levels of psychological safety have been linked to a myriad of positive outcomes, such as more open communication, increased engagement, greater levels of creativity, and improved performance overall. Moreover, high psychological safety increases feelings of respect and trust amongst employees and promotes an atmosphere that encourages learning from past mistakes.
High psychological safety increases feelings of respect and trust amongst employees and promotes an atmosphere that encourages learning from past mistakes.
If you are seeking to cultivate a climate characterized by psychological safety in your own organization, you’ve come to the right place! Below are some simple steps you can follow to garner high psychological safety in your own organization.
Show appreciation for others’ ideas. When an employee shares a thought with you, ensure you are actively listening and showing appreciation for them sharing their input. It can be easy to get caught up in thinking of a response rather than actively processing what has been said and being appreciative for the act of sharing, which can leave the other person feeling unappreciated or unheard. Additionally, be sure to avoid attacking the idea or the person who shared it, as this can lead to defensive behavior. Disagreements and concerns should be voiced in a calm and respectful manner. Ultimately, when employees feel their ideas and input have been heard and are valued, they will be encouraged to share more ideas in the future. Appreciation increases positive feelings for one another and promotes an atmosphere of mutual respect.
Provide constructive feedback. We have all had an experience with receiving feedback that was demeaning rather than helpful. That experience may have left you feeling defensive, disrespected, or insecure. When employees feel criticized, they will be less likely to contribute to discussions or be fully engaged in the future. In contrast, employees given constructive feedback are given tools to improve their performance. At the same time, employees who receive constructive feedback also tend to feel more respected and supported by their colleagues and supervisors. Let’s face it though, not every idea is necessarily appropriate, feasible, or applicable for the situation at hand. In circumstances like this, it may be hard to know how to provide constructive feedback. One potential way to do this is to express your own idea or opinion, and then suggest a potential way to incorporate the other idea. This will help ensure the employee still feels heard and valued.
Invite contributions from employees. During meetings, call on employees to share their ideas, thoughts, or opinions with the rest of the team. This is particularly important for more introverted employees that may struggle with participating in conversations. It is not uncommon for meetings to be typically dominated by the same few employees, leaving the quiet few to sit and observe rather than actively participate. These quiet few may feel insecure about speaking up or may feel unappreciated by the rest of the team. This dilemma becomes even more apparent in virtual settings where it can be easier to disengage and avoid participation. Combat this by calling on specific people to respond to a question or share an idea they may have. Doing so will increase feelings of inclusion within the team and encourage active participation in the future. Employees will also be more likely to feel supported and valued by the rest of the team.
Ensure leadership displays desired behaviors. When it comes to setting the climate of a team or organization, change comes best from the top down. Make sure that leaders within your organization are modeling the behaviors you want to promote to develop an organizational climate characterized by psychological safety. In other words, ensure supervisors are showing appreciation for their employees’ ideas, providing constructive feedback, and inviting contributions equally from other members of their team when able. Encourage employees to follow these steps with their fellow coworkers, while also leading by example. Seeing their supervisors exhibit the very behaviors they are encouraged to engage in will motivate and inspire your employees to follow suit. Ultimately, if employees feel that their leaders value and respect them, they will be more likely to extend that to one another.
Psychological safety is a key component to creating a desirable, positive organizational climate. We hope these steps are helpful as you work to increase feelings of psychological safety in your own organization. If you would like additional support on building psychological safety in your organization, feel free to reach out!