Hey Friends,
Did you notice that whenever things go wrong, it’s come easy for people to play the blame game? Surprisingly, it is becoming the main go-to tool in the world around, especially in workplaces.
But if team members consistently start pointing fingers at one another, then there is a good chance that they lack a critical element of success and that is their psychological safety.
Psychological safety is a term that Harvard Business School professor Amy Edmondson popularised. It’s an aspect of workplace culture that encourages smart risks, doesn’t unfairly punish mistakes, and produces stronger outcomes from professional dissent.
Whenever psychological safety exists, teams are able to innovate, accept stretch goals, and own their mistakes as learning opportunities.
Here are my three takeaways to begin building psychological safety, especially at your workplace:
Don’t avoid (healthy) conflict.
- Remember that conflict can be a good thing. It encourages teams to see multiple perspectives and think critically about important issues.
- People understand that conflict can be respectful and productive in a psychologically safe space.
- As a leader, you should call out conflict when you see it. For example, you might say something like this:- “I sense some disagreement here let’s explore each-others standpoint.”
Dissect failure like a scientist.
- Lab coats are not necessary to think like a scientist. When a team becomes accustomed to an open-minded dissection of failures, they begin to see the power of learning from missteps.
- Ask simple and direct questions such as:-
- What might we have done differently?
- What are we thinking which resulted in a less-than-satisfactory outcome?
- How is the situation different from what we expected?..etc.etc
Encourage all voices.
- Finally, and perhaps most simply, invite all voices to the discussion on a consistent basis. Not everyone communicates the same way. Some of us are outspoken; others are more reserved.
- When working collaboratively, pay close attention to who is holding himself back and make sure that you invite them to participate.
- Make it clear that the team is stronger when everyone brings their perspectives and points of view to the discussion, especially when the stakes are high and the path forward is uncertain.
Psychological safety is a team’s superpower that defeats the blame game to support stronger connections and better results.
Take good care & enjoy reading your dose of mindful productivity!
JOE
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