Psychological Safety: The Key to High-Performing Teams 🚀

This week, I cried during a team meeting.

And that‘s ok.

It might sound surprising, but crying is just one of the many emotions that we can experience at work.

And this is precisely why psychological safety is crucial!

Psychological safety is defined as:

The belief that one will not be punished or humiliated for speaking up with ideas, questions, concerns, or mistakes, and the team is safe for interpersonal risk taking.

In simpler terms, it means that team members feel comfortable being themselves, sharing their thoughts and ideas, and taking risks without fearing negative consequences.

A strong sense of psychological safety have shown to lead to:

• Increased employee engagement 🌟

• High level of trust and lower turnover 🤝

• A culture of learning and innovation 🚀

• Improved problem-solving skills 🧠

  
  

Google's research even highlights psychological safety as the TOP trait of their most effective teams! 💡

Psychological safety is a game-changer in team performance, so here’s a guide on how to assess and improve the psychological safety in your team!

How to assess Psychological Safety:

We all ❤️ a good questionnaire - so Dr Edmondson, who codified the concept of psychological safety, developed one:

1. If you make a mistake on this team, it is not held against you.

2. Members of this team are able to bring up problems and tough issues.

3. People on this team sometimes accept others for being different.

4. It is safe to take a risk on this team.

5. It isn’t difficult to ask other members of this team for help.

6. No one on this team would deliberately act in a way that undermines my efforts.

7. Working with members of this team, my unique skills and talents are valued and utilized.

To complement this survey, you can as well analyze feedbacks, turnover rates and exit interviews. 🔎

5 ways to improve Psychological Safety:

🎯 Establish clear goals and expectations

Uncertainty causes stress, and creates hesitation in decision-making and risk-taking.

With providing clear expectations, your team will feel more confident in their day-to-day actions.

💡 You can foster this by:

• Defining clear roles, responsibilities and goals.

• Reviewing progress and adjusting as needed.

• Encouraging open talks on success metrics.

🌱  Cultivate open communication

Being able to express opinions, ask questions and offer suggestions without fear of judgment helps creating a safe space.

💡 You can foster this by:

• Holding regular team meeting and 1:1 sessions.

• Sharing your own doubts and mistakes.

• Encouraging constructive feedback.

• Being transparent with decisions.

🌟 Value contributions

When team members feel like their efforts and ideas matter, they will be more willing to share and innovate.

💡 You can foster this by:

• Encouraging diverse perspectives with an inclusive working environment.

• Guiding team discussions to ensure all voices are heard.

• Showing appreciation for ideas & efforts.

• Giving credit where credit is due.

🧠 Encourage growth mindset

A growth mindset is based on the idea that abilities can improve with time, promoting a culture where team members view failures as chances for continuous development.

💡 You can foster this by:

• Offering chances to learn new skills and tackle new challenges.

• Praising growth and effort, not just success and results.

• Celebrating mistakes as learning experiences.

• Encouraging experimentation.

🤝 Build trust and respect

When team members feel trusted by their leader and respect each other, they're more likely to collaborate and take ownership of their tasks!

💡 You can foster this by:

• Being honest and accountable for your own actions.

• Showing that feedback matters by acting on it.

• Encouraging team work and collaboration.

• Delegating tasks and responsibilities.

• Addressing conflicts directly.

Remember, psychological safety is not a buzzword or a passing trend, it's an essential component for high-performing teams that requires time and effort, so start investing now!

Actions for today:

• Have your team assess anonymously the level of psychological safety.

• Share the results and encourage your team to discuss them.

• Find which techniques you can implement for improvement.

• Re-assess after 3-4 months.

Happy leading! 💪