How Psychologically Safe is Your Team?

According to a Centre for Creative Leadership survey of over 10,000 young adults in 20 countries, 46% of Emerging Leaders between the ages of 18 to 30, feel it’s not safe to take risks or make mistakes as a leader,.

Where vulnerability might have been last year’s topic, Psychological Safety has become the buzzword of 2022. A team leader I coach had recently been promoted and found herself in an environment where, even though she was being celebrated for the diversity she brought to the team (the youngest team lead and the sole team member hailing from the Middle East) she didn’t feel comfortable to completely express her opinions and speak about issues that related to her culture. She had earned a seat at the table but felt stifled in the boardroom. Clients often blame themselves and it’s the coach's job to challenge that. So we had a discussion about the level of Psychological Safety in her organization, and as it turns out, the company had a long way to go.

The McKinsey & Company report, “Psychological Safety and the Critical Role of Leadership Development” outlines that when “employees feel comfortable asking for help, sharing suggestions informally, or challenging the status quo without fear of negative social consequences, organizations are more likely to innovate quickly, unlock the benefits of diversity, and adapt well to change—all capabilities that have only grown in importance during the COVID-19 crisis.”

Another study by the Harvard Business Review shows that diverse teams only thrive if there’s a high level of Psychological Safety. Teams are embracing generational diversity in which a variety of different age groups are all expected to collaborate in a non-hierarchical way.

So if it’s so critical in today’s workplace to get this right, I began to wonder:

How can leaders know if their culture is getting an A+ in Psychological Safety?
What are the steps leaders can take to be mindful of creating this culture?
What are the key behaviors that foster it and what’s the quickest way to achieve it

Team assessments can determine if you're on the right track or need to develop some better practices.

Since self awareness is such an important element to understanding what’s going on with the team, questions you can ask yourself as an organization might be:

✔ How often do leaders in your organization share their own authentic personal stories of failure and lesson learning?

✔ Is there a culture where trying something new or proposing an innovative way to solve a problem is celebrated whether or not the idea is adopted into practice?

✔ How often do you as a leader actively seek out the perspectives of the younger generation?

Sharing positive and negative experiences across the board demonstrates that failure is part of the path of ALL leaders. It opens up an opportunity for everyone to feel safe in knowing that they can not only share their challenges but actively seek support and move forward no matter what comes their way.

Leaders who create safe environments with their team members tend to solicit input and consider the team’s views on issues that affect them. They are able to express concern and support for their team members on a personal basis, even if these conversations occur in the context of the workplace. Lastly, encouraging people to “think outside the box”, feel empowered to make work-related changes, and develop a Growth Mindset are all actions that create a positive and safe culture within teams.

Here are some Action Steps that teams can try right away to promote a culture of safety in your organization:

✔ Before decisions are made, ask for other viewpoints and encourage participation from people who haven't contributed

✔ Make a practice of asking about team members well being and getting to know them and not just what they think about work-related issues

✔ Share your mistakes and tell your team what you learned from them

✔ Give people different ways of contributing ideas whether it's in person during brainstorming or experiment with other tools such as Slack or Google docs

✔ Radically abolish negative comments and unskillful feedback

Most importantly, when teams create a non-judgemental space, people are more likely to propose innovative ideas. Psychological safety helps people bring their full creativity to problem-solving–and that’s when teams really thrive.

If you're interested in finding out where your team stands on Psychological Safety reach out to us. Here's a sneak peak into what a survey would look like, Google Doc, based on Peter Hawkin’s Psychological Safety questionnaire.

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