How to improve psychological safety

In our previous article we introduced the concept of psychological safety and its associated benefits.

This week we explore several practical actions that foster psychological safety in the workplace. 

We are going to focus on actions which every team should be focussing on to improve on psychological safety.

Providing feedback and breaking the spiral of silence has been prescribed as the antidote to psychological safety.

By providing feedback leaders ensure that vulnerable employees with differing opinions are heard and listened to. 

Feedback should be given in a respectable and professional manner to enable employees to feel safe within the team and encourage future participation.

Be open to feedback- In the same manner that a leader should provide feedback, leaders need to be receptive to feedback from their teams. 

Vladyslay Savchenko asserts that healthy communication established within a team and its leader simplifies processes, provides clear vision of the goals leading to better performance and higher levels of mutual trust. 

Providing and being open to feedback is key in the process of creating psychological safety since psychological safety is the shared belief that it is safe to take interpersonal risks as a group.

Getting to know your team- Knowing your team’s thought processes, character and their response to specific situations are the basis of trust. 

Trust has been generally the basis of psychological safety. 

For an employee knowing their leader knows and understands them is a source of psychological safety as they are accepted the way they are without bias. 

The more team members get to know each other the less they will feel like they must hold back their valuable thoughts and opinions because they are shy or scared to speak up.

Collaborate and share ownership – Collaboration is “the coming together of diverse interests and people to achieve a common purpose via interactions, information sharing, and coordination of activities” (Jassawalla & Sashittal, 1998). 

When done correctly collaboration gives team members a sense of purpose and shared ownership of outcomes leading to stronger psychological safety.

Lead with empathy – Emotional Intelligence helps leaders to create psychological safety of a productive team by focusing on empathy.  

When teams are empathetic and connected in the workplace, they gain a more accurate understanding of each other that deepens trust, resilience, and supportive behaviour in relationships, thereby creating psychological safety.

Be transparent – Transparency is operating in a way that it is easy for others to see what actions are performed. 

Transparency implies openness, communication, and accountability.

Transparency has been to the benefit of establishing trust, strengthens relationships and a healthier work culture. These positive aspects all contribute to psychological safety in the workplace.

Foster support between co-workers – When employees are engaged in genuine relationships within a company, they become more engaged and productive. 

This can be achieved by prioritising cross level conversations, involving employees in decision making, building connections through shared projects as well as forming joint committees.   

Chiedza Kadare is an OD Practitioner. You can get in touch with her on WhatsApp/call +263 77 283 0986 or Email chiedza.kadare@gmail.com

Paul Nyausaru is an OD Practitioner and leadership coach. For all your OD interventions and leadership development training you can get in touch with him on WhatsApp/call +263774062756 or Email pnyausaru@gmail.com