Leveraging on the power of psychological safety

Judging by the different levels of performance by organisations, we are prompted to ask why some teams outperform others while having the same skills, resources, and structures?”

The general answer that usually comes is because they have talented people. An interesting analysis was done by Google in its 2012 study code-named Project Aristotle, to discover what made for high performing teams.

Google’s top executives long believed that building the best teams meant combining the best people (as most of us think). However, after reviewing the academic evidence and data from almost 200 teams, the researchers concluded that “team norms” and, particularly, “psychological safety” were the key drivers of strong team performance.

This week’s article focuses on this interesting subject of psychological safety and highlights how it can enhance team performance. We start by defining psychological safety.

According to Amy Edmondson, a leading researcher on the topic, “psychological safety” is “a belief that no one will be punished or humiliated for sharing ideas, questions, concerns, or mistakes.”

She further stresses that psychologically safe teams are “characterized by interpersonal trust and mutual respect, in which people are comfortable being themselves”.

As per Google researchers, psychological safety “refers to an individual’s perception of the consequences of taking an interpersonal risk or a belief that a team is safe for risk taking in the face of being seen as ignorant, incompetent, negative, or disruptive.

In a team with high psychological safety, teammates feel safe to take risks around their team members.

They feel confident that no one on the team will embarrass or punish anyone else for admitting a mistake, asking a question, or offering a new idea.”

We urge you to take a moment and reflect on your team at your workplace. Is there a room for thinking in other terms and feeling free to contribute without fear of reprisal?

It is good to know that the world has dramatically changed. This has arisen from changes brought about by events such as the COVID 19, which disrupted the way we do business. We are living in times when things like collaboration, autonomy, and self-organising teams are mandatory for many organisations in order to foster innovation.

Just think about it, how does innovation in an organisation prosper where failing is punished or, even worse, where leaders are still imposing their “brilliant” ideas on their teams?

Why is psychological safety important?

The modern economy calls for teams and organisations that are looking for ideas, innovation, and creativity characteristics that propel adequate system.

Additionally it is essential to attract and retain talent. But the question to ask is: Can an innovative, creative, and exceptionally talented team achieves their potential if they do not feel safe to speak their minds?

Usually asking simple questions around an issue might result in one being sanctioned.

What a way to stifle innovation and creativity. It has been proven that in workplaces where psychological safety is part of the culture and system there is an ignition of innovation while fostering a healthy, creative, happy, and more productive workplace.

In this modern age we need more than ever to decentralise decisions and ideas across the hierarchical structures. We need to give teams space to brainstorm solutions based on the context they are living in.

We need to understand that failing is part of the innovation process and people must feel safe to try new things without the fear of losing their jobs, or any other punishment, if things do not work out as they wished.

Organisations should start to develop a culture of believing in their own staff, allow them to be challenged and to have alternatives on the table in order to breathe life into the organisation. Differences in opinion should not be a source of reprisal but innovation and creativity.

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