Decades of research have shown that providing psychological safety in the workplace has a positive impact on success, innovation and learning across all industries, and at all levels. But what exactly do we mean by psychological safety, and how do we begin to create a psychologically safe environment for your employees?
The role of psychological safety in the workplace
Organisational psychologist and professor Dr. William Kahn, the so-called father of employee engagement, described psychological safety as “being able to show and employ one’s self without fear of negative consequences to self-image, status or career.” In the workplace this translates to an environment where people feel safe to speak-up, ask questions, and share concerns or ideas without the fear of ridicule, blame, upsetting ‘the boss’ or even being completely ignored.
Without this sense of ‘safety’, people often work in a culture where silence is considered the best way to ‘get on’. They don’t ask questions for fear of looking incompetent. They never admit to making a mistake. They don’t ‘rock the boat’ by raising issues or concerns to management. It’s this kind of environment that can see organisations stagnate, prevent them from seeking solutions to their challenges, ignore or be oblivious to unethical practices, and underutilise the very knowledge and expertise they sought to employ in the first place.
Squashing dissent is a recipe for disaster
A ‘culture of silence’ can have serious repercussions for organisations. Leaders who only want to hear good news ensure that bad news never reaches their ears and problems are left to fester. This is something Nokia learned the hard way. In the 1990s they were the top-selling mobile phone manufacturer in the world. By 2012, their market value was down 75% with losses of billions of dollars.
A study of Nokia by graduate business school INSEAD in 2015 found that the company’s executives were not open to discussing the threat newer tech companies posed in their constantly-evolving market. And while their managers and engineers were aware that Nokia’s technology was falling way behind, they were afraid to discuss this with their bosses. Nokia missed the opportunity to utilise the skills and expertise of their workforce to continue innovating.
The rise of fearless organisations in the hybrid age
Turning this around are those we now call, ‘fearless organisations’. Organisations who have removed a ‘culture of fear’ and are nurturing psychologically-safe workplaces. Case studies show that fearless organisations are higher performers, as they have the confidence to take risks, share new and different ideas and are candid in sharing feedback or concerns, even when it’s considered sensitive or threatening. Promoting this kind of risk-free openness between leaders and their team is even more important as hybrid environments have become more common. With more people choosing to work from home, or splitting their work week between home and the office, having confidence that your team is comfortable coming to you with ideas, information and mistakes that could otherwise fly under the radar when people are working in different locations is crucial.
This also puts the onus on leadership and management to be more proactive about reaching out to their teams and encouraging conversations at both the team level and individual level. Regular 1-1 check-ins, non-judgmental conversations and transparency about decision-making are all key elements of psychological safety in hybrid and remote work environments.
Putting psychological safety into practice
How can you show employees they work in a psychologically safe workplace? By demonstrating that safety in action. A common practice in many fearless organisations is regular town hall meetings or team listening sessions. Under former CEO Darren Childs, UKTV introduced weekly town hall meetings where they openly discussed adversity and mistakes, totally judgment-free. People were encouraged to ask questions of the leadership. Nothing was taboo. However, it soon became clear that people were still reluctant to bring-up touchier subjects. To convince people that it was truly OK to ask anything, they set-up a post box. The only time this post box was opened was during the town halls, ensuring that the leadership team had no idea what was inside and had to give answers on the spot. This became a powerful tool for creating psychological safety, as the responses were genuine and not pre-prepared, politically correct or corporate propaganda.
Making it safe to fail is another important foundation of psychological safety. In fact, Spotify’s CEO, Daniel Ek’s motto is: “We aim to make mistakes faster than anyone else.” Each Spotify team has Fail Walls and internal blogs that share successes and failures in the strong belief that mistakes and failures are acceptable as long as you learn from them.
The three foundations of a psychological safe workplace
So how do you go about creating a psychologically safe environment? Firstly, it’s important to clarify that this kind of environment is not about being nice to each other or trying to keep the peace by agreeing all the time. It is about being transparent, exchanging ideas without fear, and making it possible to disagree while still being productive and constructive. Regardless of whether your team works remotely, in-person or a mix of the two, these foundations still apply.
1. Be clear about expectations
Set expectations about failure, uncertainty, and why everyone’s voice is equally important. Move away from being seen as ‘the boss’ who has all the answers to being a leader who sets the direction and is open to hearing your team’s insights to drive excellence. Emphasise why this new set-up is important – what’s at stake, and why it matters to everyone.
2. Encourage participation
As the leader, you’re key to creating an environment where your team feels comfortable coming to you with ideas or concerns. Show that you’re open to listening and learning. Ask questions. Create forums with clear guidelines for discussion where people can share.
3. Be productive and constructive
When people do take a risk or speak up, responding in a way that proves that it’s safe to do so is crucial. Acknowledge their contribution and express your appreciation. Make it safe to fail by promoting it as a natural by-product of innovation. Offer help. Discuss the lessons learned and brainstorm next steps. Make sure that the boundaries on experimentation are clear and reinforce your company’s values. If the failures were preventable, look at solutions, such as training or changing processes. If these failures continue, you may have to consider disciplinary action.
Giving people the confidence that their voice is welcomed by their leadership contributes to their sense of psychological safety in the workplace. This provides a solid foundation for organisations to shift their culture from one of ‘fear of failure’ to one of ‘fearlessness’ - and ultimately a more engaged, collaborative and innovative organisation where their employees see themselves thriving in.
