Embracing Psychological Safety: Creating a High-Performance Workplace
What is Psychological Safety?
Psychological safety at work means feeling comfortable sharing thoughts and ideas without fear of negative consequences.
It’s about creating a space where people can be open, honest, and themselves without worrying about judgment.
Amy Edmondson from Harvard Business School emphasised its importance for team performance in her book “The Fearless Organisation.”
She explains that team members can exist in different zones depending on their level of psychological safety, standards, and motivation.
The Apathy Zone
When the team experiences low psychological safety and low standards or motivation, team members can be apathetic and spend their time jockeying for positions. Organisations here tend to exhibit top-heavy bureaucracies, where team members fulfil their functions and behave in a way that collects favours rather than shares ideas.
Anxiety Zone
When the team experiences low psychological safety but high standards and motivation, team members may fear offering tentative ideas, trying new things, or asking for help, even though they know great work requires these. Organisations like investment banks and high-powered consultancies tend to operate here.
Comfort Zone
When the team experiences high psychological safety but has low standards or motivation, you will see that the team enjoys working together but does not feel challenged. This zone is dangerous because team members tend not to work hard to achieve an outcome.
Learning zone
When the team experiences high psychological safety and high standards or motivation, it focuses on collaboration and learning. This helps it achieve high performance because it works together and tries new things to achieve its goals.
Psychological safety isn’t about being nice. It’s about giving candid feedback, openly admitting mistakes, and learning from each other.”
Dr. Amy Edmondson
What Do You Have When You Get Psychological Safety Right?
When psychological safety is present in a workplace, several positive outcomes emerge:
Innovation and Creativity: People are likelier to share creative ideas and innovative solutions when they know they won’t be ridiculed or punished for thinking outside the box. Teams that feel safe are more willing to take risks, which can lead to groundbreaking ideas and improvements.
Effective Collaboration: Psychological safety encourages open communication. Team members are more likely to share their knowledge, ask questions, and seek help from others. This leads to better collaboration, as everyone feels valued and heard.
Higher Engagement and Motivation: When people feel safe, they are more engaged and motivated at work. They are more likely to go the extra mile, contribute to discussions, and take initiative because they believe their contributions matter.
Increased Learning and Development: In a psychologically safe environment, mistakes are seen as learning opportunities rather than failures. This encourages continuous learning and development, as employees are fearless in admitting when they don’t know something or have made a mistake.
Resilience and Adaptability: Psychologically safe teams are better equipped to handle challenges and change. Because they trust each other, they can quickly adapt to new situations and bounce back from setbacks.
What You See When Psychological Safety is Missing
On the flip side, the absence of psychological safety can have serious consequences for a team or organisation:
Fear and Anxiety: Without psychological safety, people are more likely to feel anxious and fearful at work. They may worry about being judged, penalised, or ostracised for speaking up or making mistakes. This fear can create a toxic work environment where people fear taking risks.
Lack of Innovation: Employees who feel unsafe are less likely to share new ideas or challenge the status quo. This can lead to stagnation, where the company or team needs to take advantage of opportunities for growth and improvement because everyone is playing it safe.
Poor Communication: Communication can break down in environments lacking psychological safety. People might withhold information, avoid difficult conversations, or fail to ask for help when needed. This can lead to misunderstandings, mistakes, and a lack of trust within the team.
Low Engagement and Productivity: Employees may become disengaged and unmotivated without psychological safety. They might only do the bare minimum, refrain from taking the initiative, or become overly focused on protecting themselves rather than contributing to the team’s success.
High Turnover and Burnout: A lack of psychological safety can contribute to employee burnout and high turnover rates. When people don’t feel safe at work, they are more likely to become stressed and eventually leave the company. This can result in losing talent and increased costs for the organisation.
The Surprising Paradox of Psychological Safety and Comfort
Interestingly, there’s a paradox regarding psychological safety and comfort. While creating a safe environment is crucial, it doesn’t mean that everyone should always feel comfortable.
Psychological safety often involves embracing discomfort, especially regarding learning and growth.
For example, it’s important to have difficult conversations, address uncomfortable truths, and challenge ideas. These activities can be uncomfortable but necessary for personal and organisational development. The key is that while these situations may feel challenging, employees should still feel safe engaging in them without fear of negative repercussions.
Advantages and Disadvantages
Advantages:
Enhanced Performance: Teams with high psychological safety often outperform others because they leverage diverse perspectives and encourage innovative thinking.
Better Employee Retention: Employees who feel safe and valued are likelier to stay with the company, reducing turnover and associated costs.
Improved Well-Being: Psychological safety contributes to a healthier work environment where stress is reduced and well-being is prioritised.
Disadvantages:
Potential for Complacency: If not appropriately managed, psychological safety can lead to complacency, where employees avoid difficult conversations or challenges to maintain comfort.
Misinterpretation: Some may need clarification on psychological safety with permissiveness, leading to a lack of accountability or low-performance standards.
Why should you bother?
Psychological safety is more than just a nice-to-have; it’s crucial for encouraging a productive, innovative, and inclusive workplace. When done right, it can bring tremendous benefits for individuals and organisations.
It’s important to balance creating a safe environment without avoiding the challenges and discomfort necessary for growth. Understanding and implementing psychological safety can significantly impact your workplace, driving better outcomes and creating a more positive work culture.