In 2016, Google's 'Project Aristotle' studied 180 teams to understand what makes some teams successful, while others fail. It found that psychological safety was the most important thing determining the success of a team.
But what actually is "psychological safety"? And how is it related to trust? The Leader Factor describe it as "a framework to ensure that you have consistent trust in your teams" with "a culture of rewarded vulnerability".
Dr. Amy Edmonson, a leading researcher in the field of psychological safety, describes it as "a sense of confidence that the team will not embarrass, reject, or punish someone for speaking up".
If people do not feel safe to contribute, to ask questions, to speak up and to challenge, everything suffers - results are reduced, people's motivation goes down, accidents and injuries increase and innovation is much less likely.
Why is psychological safety more important than ever?
With the increasing pace of change and highly specialised roles, teams are more likely to face unfamiliar scenarios where they need to work in new ways. Roles are also often more collaborative, making effective communication more important than ever before. At the same time, we are more likely to work with people in different time zones, from different cultures and with very different skills and expertise. Without psychological safety, team members are less likely to take the necessary risks to question things, make suggestions and challenge outdated ways.
When there is psychological safety "...team members feel safe to be themselves, make mistakes, take responsibility, and encourage change." (The Leader Factor)
How much psychological safety is there in your team?
Tim R Clark's 4 stages of psychological safety is a useful guide and we've included some of the signs of each stage below.
Inclusion safety: people know your name and can pronounce it; your team have regular ways of connecting with each other; differences are celebrated, not just tolerated.
Learner safety: you can share mistakes openly and you can say "I don't know"; you're supported in your learning goals, not just performance goals.
Contributor safety: people have autonomy and the space to do things their own way; you have problems to solve, more than tasks to complete.
Challenger safety: you can comfortably share a "half-baked" idea; there's no "elephant in the room" - you can confront bad news; everyone has a voice and is listened to.
These 4 stages are described in a recent podcast from burn brightly.
It's important to note that members of the same team will feel different levels of psychological safety. If you're more senior, and/or have more knowledge or experience, you're likely to feel more psychologically safe (O'Donovan et al, 2020). Having a perception of personal control and autonomy also helps to support your sense of psychological safety.
What damages psychological safety?
There are several ways to reduce or damage it:
Bullying, harassment, ridicule
Excluding team members
Minimising autonomy
A lack of recognition or feedback
A culture of blame, including contempt and defensiveness
Not keeping your commitments - particularly if you don't explain why you need to break a commitment
Failing to recognise team members as people - treating them as "resources", refusing reasonable requests
Unrealistic standards and perfectionism
Changing goals and expectations without reasonable explanations
Failing to prioritise rituals and behaviours that connect and strengthen the team
How can you build psychological safety?
According to Dr. Edmonson, psychological safety comes from 2 key factors:
Situational humility - leadership doesn’t have all the answers; and
Curiosity.
In short, being able to show vulnerability, to admit you don't have all the answers, and to be curious about learning together.
There are many ways to build psychological safety - here are 2 of the simpler ways to start.
Build a culture of continuous improvement
In 2020, a meta-analysis of 36 peer-reviewed studies identified a culture of continuous improvement as one of 13 key enablers of psychological safety.
"At the team level, change-oriented leaders play a key role in enabling psychological safety by role modelling innovative thinking, taking interpersonal risks and discussing errors." O'Donovan et al, 2020, p. 248
In the workplace, this could include:
Having regular (fortnightly or monthly) routines to recognise what is working well and what can be improved. It's crucial that these sessions are facilitated in a way that enables all team members to speak up and contribute. Engaging an Agile Coach or Leadership Coach would be a worthwhile investment if your team tends to be dominated by certain voices. You might also consider a social contract to set clear expectations about expected behaviour, and strengthen individual accountability.
Using mistakes and errors as an opportunity to learn
Inclusive leadership
The same study from 2020 defines inclusive leadership as "...leaders’ words and deeds invite and appreciate their contributions and feedback from all team members." O'Donovan et al, 2020, p. 248, referencing Nembhard & Edmonson, 2006
Inclusive leadership behaviours support psychological safety by helping to flatten hierarchical differences. People with higher status (formal or informal) are more likely to feel psychologically safe. So, if you have more experience, more connections across an organisation (or industry), or a more senior role, you can use your influence to support others to contribute, ask questions and build their involvement over time.
You can also build a greater sense of inclusion by clearly and consistently showing that you value everyone's work. This impacts the psychological safety of the whole team - not just the individuals you acknowledge at the time. In 2022, McKinsey found that 90% of employees on teams where everyone’s work is valued feel greater psychological safety.
The same McKinsey research found only 50% of employees feel their manager makes sure they get credit for their work, so you probably need to look at how you recognise each team member - are you more likely to notice certain individuals, or certain types of work? It's possible you're not seeing contributions clearly. Building team routines to increase recognition from peers is also a great step, with peer recognition often more highly valued than recognition from leaders (Zak, 2017).
Would you like to learn more?
Progression offers coaching and programs for teams to build psychological safety. You can book a free 20 minute call below.
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