9 steps to create a psychologically safe workplace

Think of a time when you were in a crowded room. You had something you wanted to share, but you were uncomfortable doing so. The discomfort was so great that you kept your thoughts to yourself. At that moment, you were not experiencing psychological safety.

Psychological safety, a term coined by Harvard academic Amy Edmondson in 1999, has gained tremendous momentum and attention over the past two decades. When thinking about the concept of psychological safety, it may be helpful to think through the lens of a wingsuit. Although relatively simple in design, these contraptions allow individuals to safely jump off mountains, cliffs, buildings, and helicopters to perform dangerous actions. Psychological safety at work acts as a professional wingsuit, allowing professionals to take risks because they know they are safe.

What is psychological safety?

Many people wonder if psychological safety is simply about being kind or respectful to others at work. Treating people with respect and courtesy is part of a psychologically safe workplace, but these two adjectives do not represent the full complexity of psychological safety.

Psychological safety is the belief that you and others will not be penalized or humiliated for speaking openly about your ideas, questions, concerns, or mistakes. It’s a lack of social phobia. In the work environment, psychological safety supports the belief that it is safe to take appropriate risks regarding one’s behavior in a group context. It has been.

Related: Why you should care about psychological safety at work

9 steps to psychological safety

A culture of psychological safety does not occur by itself and must be cultivated through specific behavioral procedures.

1. Please attend. The first step in establishing psychological safety is being present and involved. Specific actions you can take to support psychological safety include actively listening, making eye contact, not using technology during conversations, and asking follow-up questions about ideas and shared information. and so on. In a society that idealizes multitasking and being “busy,” the goal of being present can be difficult, but in doing so, we prioritize connection and psychological safety over dysfunctional habits.
2. Understanding. Then you can create a toolbox for your comprehension. It creates psychological safety by showing that you understand or are trying to understand what is being said. One strategy for doing this is paraphrasing, “I heard you…” or “I want to clarify your point, can you explain this?” Your intent to understand the other person is clear and genuine as you ask for clarification on what is being shared. Body language such as nodding, slouching, and appropriate facial expressions indicate a desire to understand.
3. avoid blame. Optimal functioning of individuals and teams is hindered when people are reluctant to discuss challenges and failures for fear of reprisal, blame, or judgment. Instead of asking “What happened and why?”, this reduces psychological safety and focuses on the past. This type of question focuses on the future. Encourages learning from the situation as a cohesive team.
4. transparency. This includes practicing sharing best practices with your team, either as a leader or as a team member. the way you work best. How would you like to be recognized? preferred method of communication. This gives you a script or profile that allows other users to understand you and interact with you best.
5. Stop negativity. The overall goal of psychological safety is to work together as a functional team. Negativity undermines this goal, and worse, negativity is contagious. Team culture is established when her members gossip, make negative comments, encourage drama, and talk about people behind their backs. Others assume that it is the norm and acceptable behavior of the group, that the practice continues and builds, and that it destroys psychological safety. Most of us are uncomfortable dealing with negativity when it’s the only voice we’re talking about. Planning ahead can help with this. Just like when you practiced fire drills in school to prepare for potential emergencies, have a plan and script of what to do and say in moments when negativity compromises your psychological safety. By going, you can respond effectively to the situation instead of letting it go.
6. Comprehensive decision making. This step encourages all team members to participate in decision-making through input, feedback, and sharing of thoughts. Includes a leader who explains the rationale for final decisions and celebrates all contributions. This includes contributions that were consistent with the final decision and contributions that may not have been consistent but helped us consider all perspectives to reach the final decision. This allows individuals to continue sharing ideas regardless of the outcome.
7. Welcome conflict. Conflict gains notoriety, even though conflict seems to go against a psychologically safe culture. Healthy conflict involves the ability to receive and give feedback. Especially for leaders, this is essential for self and team functioning optimally. Healthy conflict allows team members to challenge leaders and each other, opening the possibility to consider new or different perspectives. This improves psychological safety.
8. Make your team champions. Supporting and sharing team contributions, whether in a leadership role or as a team member, increases psychological safety. This also means that no individual can be held responsible if a team misses a mark on a goal. Instead, the whole team works together to take advantage of the situation and grow their knowledge and skills. Leaders and teams approach failures and challenges from a curiosity framework for collaborative learning and troubleshooting, rather than focusing on accountability.
9. copper connection. Copper is the most efficient conductor. Playing a copper role as a leader or team member can create and foster relationships among team members. Having these connections at work and within teams facilitates other steps in creating psychological safety.

Related: 7 steps to keep conflict healthy

Why bother creating psychological safety?

Building psychological safety is not just a “good” thing. Workplaces that create and promote psychological safety reflect quantifiable benefits. These cultures have high employee engagement and typically high levels of productivity. Creativity and innovation also increase in psychologically safe organizations and teams. Ideas flow in an organic way because her members of the team feel comfortable speaking their minds.

Related: Are your employees stressed?We need to embrace transparency

Psychological safety promotes the overall well-being of team members and employees. This is because they become more mentally healthy and contribute to their physical health. Stress levels are lower than anxiety and depression, resulting in less employee absenteeism. Finally, organizations with higher psychological safety have higher employee morale and retention. Team members are more likely to express positive opinions about their organization to individuals outside the organization.

It’s a matter of choice. Choose to stick with the way your organization or team currently works or integrate behavioral procedures to create the benefits of a psychologically safe work culture.