Do you know psychological safety among employees is a precursor to innovative, adaptive performance? It’s one essential catalyst in today’s rapidly changing competitive environment. During the COVID-19, the McKinsey Global Survey report revealed that only a handful of positive business leaders demonstrate encouraging behavior ensuring psychological safety within the organization. However, over 89% of employees believed that Psychological safety is essential in a workplace.
Source: McKinsey Quarterly – Five Fifty
What Does Psychological Safety Encompass?
In Harvard’s 1999 journal, Amy Edmondson shed light to elaborate on Psychological safety among employees in these words, “Psychological safety means an absence of interpersonal fear. When psychological safety is present, people are able to speak up with work-relevant content.”
Psychological safety encompasses a significant set of principles to foster a productive and healthy work environment. It encourages open communication, constructive feedback, inclusivity, and empathy towards each other. it helps build an environment where individuals help each other overcome their flaws and foster a growth mindset. On the other hand, for leaders, it helps to achieve goals proactively through collective team efforts.
The Importance of Psychological Safety in the Workplace
Workplaces with psychological safety tend to have a positive and encouraging environment for employees. They feel comfortable bringing new ideas, putting more enthusiasm into tasks, going beyond their limits to incorporate efficiency in every job, and avoid bringing excuses to the table. This is especially important in situations where employees may have faced personal trauma or abuse. The Adult Survivors Act provides a pathway for adult survivors of sexual abuse to seek justice, and in the context of psychological safety, it reinforces the importance of creating environments where individuals feel safe to share their experiences and seek support.
On the other hand, for organizations, it fosters innovation and growth. According to a study by Google, workplaces with high psychological safety are more effective and their employees are 2.5x times more involved and engaged.
The self-determination theory presented by Richard Ryan and Edward Deci unfolds that employees have three basic psychological needs—competence, autonomy, and relatedness. If you successfully satisfy these needs it promotes high-quality performance and broader well-being.
Moreover, McKinsey’s research states that organizations having a high level of psychological safety are more likely to have lower turnover rates and increased productivity. They generate 50% greater productivity.
In a healthy work environment, psychological safety tends to foster the following traits and practices among employees.
- Open communication and Knowledge sharing: Employees feel comfortable sharing their ideas, feedback, and questions. The openness cultivates diverse perspectives and collective problem-solving.
- Trust, high-quality relationships: Mutual respect thrives among teammates who tend to respond constructively rather than critically.
- Encouragement of Risk-Taking: Employees feel empowered to take risks and experiment with innovative ideas without having the fear of failure. Such a positive outlook to work promotes creativity, growth, and innovation.
- Job satisfaction: Employees feel more valued and heard. It impacts on enhancing job satisfaction as they feel more encouraged to express their concerns without fearing for negative consequences.
- Organizational learning: It allows employees to learn from their mistakes without getting penalized for trying new ideas. It empowers teams to grow and adapt collaboratively.
However, if psychological safety is low at work and employees feel uncomfortable, what measures should a leader take to save the organization? How should a leader respond, behave, and act to build a progressive work environment? Here are some effective strategies to follow.
How Leaders Create Psychological Safety at Work
Have you ever felt that no matter what incentive plan you come up with your team still lacks zeal or enthusiasm – like they are not fully into the job?
Leaders even having the best intentions, often struggle to build a healthy work environment for their employees. A high bonus may trigger a flare of energy among your team members but it will be momentarily. So, here’s what you should do to ensure growth, productivity, and collaboration among teams at all times.
Encouraging Open Communication:
Leaders should promote psychological safety by inviting employees to share their opinions, ideas, and concerns. They should create an atmosphere of trust that makes every employee feel their input is valued to help build a culture of openness. They should plan regular feedback sessions and open-door policies to reinforce this approach.
Modeling Vulnerability:
Being a leader, you should demonstrate vulnerability by admitting your mistakes or uncertainties. It helps set a powerful example for your teammates. Such a behavior shows that it’s okay to be imperfect and it encourages employees to take risks. They begin to share their opinions without fearing judgment or punishment.
Active Listening and Empathy:
Active listening is essential to foster a positive culture within your company. According to McKinsey & Company, leaders who practice empathy and active listening enhance their teams’ productivity by over 40%. You should acknowledge your employees’ emotions and perspectives. Moreover, empathy goes a long way in building trust. It makes employees feel supported.
Providing Constructive Feedback:
It plays a crucial role in ensuring the company’s growth. When you become able to guide and teach your team about their mistakes and help them overcome them, this directly impacts the company’s growth. According to the Gallup Data, employees who receive regular, meaningful feedback are 3.6 times more likely to be engaged at work compared to those who do not. Moreover, Zenger Folkman’s research revealed that 72% of employees believe their performance can improve if their managers provide corrective feedback.
Promoting Inclusivity and Diversity:
Encouraging workplace diversity strengthens your company’s foundation. It enables organizations to outperform their competitors. According to McKinsey’s research, “Companies with high levels of diversity are 36% more likely to outperform their peers financially.” A leader should ensure that all voices are heard. Leaders should build a
culture of inclusion, where employees feel valued for their unique contributions.
Encouraging Learning from Mistakes:
Avoid putting harsh penalties on employees for their mistakes. This demotivates them and creates a hindrance to trying new ways and ideas. Come up with employee training programs where you can educate them about their job needs and teach them ways to overcome their mistakes. There should be a performance evaluation session to discuss the shortcomings.
Establishing Clear Norms and Expectations:
Psychological safety thrives when there is transparency in the system. The policies should be clear and consistent so that employees stay sure about the expectations and requirements. Leaders should educate employees about their roles and responsibilities.
Recognizing and Celebrating Contributions:
As a leader, it’s important to acknowledge your team’s efforts, compensate them with good, and encourage them to perform better. Set smaller and bigger milestones with perks on each. This helps keep the team motivated throughout the tenure and to do better than the expectation.
The Value of Developing Leaders
Leaders build the foundation of a company. They are the core pillars to decide the future of the business. And the success of any business depends on the hard work and dedication of its employees. So, if a leader fails to give safety and satisfaction to the employees they directly contribute to the negative performance of the business.
Hence, it’s important to ensure proper leadership training at all levels. Both senior and junior leaders should get the proper guidance and training to manage their teams effectively and to follow policies and strategies to build a safer and healthier working environment. The trained leader tends to meet challenges efficiently and is self-aware about his weaknesses. They know ways to achieve the company’s goals and targets by keeping their team working together in harmony.
According to McKinsey & Company, developing leadership skills at all levels can improve organizational performance by 20% to 25%. A Gallup study reveals that organizations with effective leadership development programs generate 30% higher employee engagement and productivity.
Considering the outcomes, many organizations have initiated proper training sessions for their leaders who are motivated to train their teammates and set better examples for them to follow. However, there are still 5% of companies who do not show any inclination towards better leadership practices.
As per the survey conducted by Thought Leadership, around 81% of employees reporting to a trained leader feel more involved and engaged in their tasks, which leads to 114% higher sales and 70% lower turnover.
Skills Leaders Need to Promote a Culture of Safety
The core responsibility of a leader is to build an environment that supports empathy, recognition, appreciation, and support. In his book “Leaders Eat Last”, Simon Sinek talked about 4 key skills every leader should have:
- Active listening
- Empathy
- Conflict resolution
- Emotional intelligence
Trust and empathy are at the core of a successful leadership journey. One who knows how to respond to conflicts, set up progressive business models for the teams, and help them with their shortcomings without exercising aggression, is a true leader. Understanding the history of OSHA can also deepen a leader’s appreciation for safety and regulatory measures, emphasizing the importance of creating a safe and supportive work environment.
Leaders should genuinely engage in active listening, providing a window for their teammates to open up and discuss their concerns. The leader should have the knowledge, wit, and emotional intelligence to address the fears and lack without damaging the integrity of their teammates. They should prioritize understanding and connect with their teams through active listening to foster collaboration and trust.
Apart from this, Simon also states that “Leaders with high emotional intelligence are capable of managing workplace stress, recognizing emotional cues, and maintaining transparent communication with their employees.” Leaders must approach conflicts with an open mind and practice the group’s collective well-being instead of empowering conflicts to create divides. A leader must have these skills to develop a resilient team having complete psychological safety.
The Need To Initiate Psychological Safety Training
Organizations often face the challenge of handling interpersonal threats that arise naturally within the departments. Driven by uncertainties, these threats can cause huge damage to the stability and performance of a business as they can shake the teams within.
As these threats spring up organically, there is a need to initiate effective psychological safety leadership training programs. Through a proper training program that is not only limited to leaders but extends to their teams, it can ensure an overall positive outcome. Integrating OSHA 30 training into these programs can further enhance workplace safety by equipping participants with essential knowledge on hazard identification and prevention.
The main aim of the training is to help leaders connect with the true emotions of their employees, understand their values, and see through their insecurities to help them overcome their weaknesses. Through psychological safety training sessions, leaders understand the key to mending broken interactions and creating a work-rewarding work culture. A safe workplace is more like an incubator of innovation. It’s a place where an idea flourishes and becomes reality.
Amy Edmondson, through various platforms, has been advocating about leadership training programs where the needs and practices are highlighted. She educates companies to build both leadership and team learning models as shown below, stating that no matter which type of team you have the training model works efficiently in generating productive outcomes.
Source: Group Performance – Edmondson
Best Psychology Tools To Use
Having an effective toolkit is essential to monitor, evaluate, and improve your organization’s safety culture. So, here’s what your leaders should get their hands on:
- The Psychological Safety Index:
The Center for Creative Leadership developed a tool that helps to measure psychological safety within teams. It’s based on Harvard Professor Amy Edmondson’s research and is credible for being a key contributor to managing successful teams that have delivered high performances. It’s important to hold people accountable to get their best outcomes but through this tool, you can stay under the safe boundaries of psychological safety to drive positive outcomes without causing stress and anxiety.
- The Team Effectiveness Survey:
The Team Effectiveness Survey provides you with a comprehensive form. It’s a detailed survey to assess team dynamics and psychological safety. It addresses the core and underlying concerns of employees who exhibit demotivated attitudes at work. It helps drive out the causes and solutions to create a balanced working environment.
- The StrengthsFinder:
Invented by Don Clifton, the tool helps leaders assess their capabilities and practices. It’s ideal to monitor the progress of your team’s behavior and help them identify their strengths and weaknesses. It provides guides and assessments for employees at all levels. It Identifies individual strengths that can promote a positive and safe working environment.
Wrap Up
Psychological safety is a critical factor in fostering innovation and collaboration among all team members in an organization. To build a progressive work environment, leaders play a pivotal role, enabling employees to express their ideas freely and learn from their mistakes. By implementing psychological safety it ensures long-term investment in your organization’s growth. Get your leaders equipped with effective tools to yield the best outcomes.