{"id":6737,"date":"2018-11-08T10:46:44","date_gmt":"2018-11-08T18:46:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.knowledgecity.com\/blog\/?p=6737"},"modified":"2024-04-18T08:05:52","modified_gmt":"2024-04-18T15:05:52","slug":"6-ways-psychological-safety","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.knowledgecity.com\/blog\/6-ways-psychological-safety\/","title":{"rendered":"6 Ways to Promote Psychological Safety in the Workplace"},"content":{"rendered":"

Want to drastically improve your team\u2019s performance<\/a>? Then, psychological safety needs to start being a priority. Psychological safety is simply a measure of how comfortable employees are with expressing ideas and concerns, as well as sharing challenges and successes.<\/p>\n

\"Focused<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been three years since Google released the findings of one of the most extensive research projects ever conducted to determine the key components of successful teams. Widely known for leading some of the highest performing teams in the business world, Google found that the single most important component<\/a> to successful teams is psychological safety.<\/p>\n

However, a December 2017 Gallup poll<\/a>\u00a0found that only three in 10 employees felt strongly that their opinions count at work. Consequently, Gallup estimated that by increasing this ratio to six in 10, organizations could expect a 27 percent turnover reduction, a 40 percent safety incident reduction, and a 12 percent increase in productivity. A recent Pew Research Center survey <\/a>further found that 89 percent of adults feel that it\u2019s imperative for today\u2019s business leaders to nurture safe and respectful work environments.<\/p>\n

Consequences of Ignoring Psychological Safety<\/h3>\n

Psychological safety remains largely unrecognized by senior executives when it should be a top priority. Consequently, it often fails to have any meaningful part in the daily experience of the average employee.<\/p>\n

The #metoo movement is a prime example of how damaging disregarding psychological safety can be to any given organization. Amy Edmondson notes this phenomenon in her book, The Fearless Organization<\/a>, in which she argues that fear is ineffective in leadership when it comes to handling interpersonal work relationship, calling fear the \u201cskunk at the garden party\u201d and pointing to how it specifically destroys teamwork, creativity, and innovation.<\/p>\n

\u201c[The] recent tidal wave of harassment claims highlights the costs of failing to create a psychologically safe workplace for women,\u201d Edmundson writes.<\/p>\n

Further studies<\/a> indicate that fear directly inhibits cooperation and learning by fostering an \u201cepidemic of silence.\u201d So, it is far from an effective motivator, especially in the long run.<\/p>\n

Why Psychological Safety Is Critical for Success<\/h3>\n

The reason for our dependency on psychological safety is deeply embedded in our very genetic code<\/a>. Psychological safety\u2019s importance and fragility is the result of adaptive behaviors that evolved to handle uncertain, interdependent environments. The brain processes provocation as a life-or-death threat. Whether it\u2019s a boss, subordinate, or coworker, this fight-or-flight response ends up hijacking our higher brain centers, effectively shutting down perspective and analytical thinking in favor of \u201cact first, think later\u201d responses. While this reaction could prove critical in actual life-or-death circumstances, it critically handicaps necessary strategic thinking for business.<\/p>\n

Barbara Fredrickson of the University of North Carolina suggests<\/a> that professional success depends on a broaden-and-build system that relies on positive emotions to help us solve complex problems and build cooperative relationships. Fredrickson found that positive emotions, such as confidence, curiosity, trust and inspiration broaden our minds and assist us in building psychological, physical, and social resources. When we feel safe, we become more motivated, persistent, resilient and open-minded. Furthermore, oxytocin levels increase, encouraging trusting and trust-making behavior. When work feels challenging rather than threatening, teams sustain this broaden-and-build mode.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn Google\u2019s fast-paced, highly demanding environment, our success hinges on the ability to take risks and be vulnerable in front of peers,\u201d Paul Santagata, Head of Industry at Google, said<\/a>.<\/p>\n

So, the question isn\u2019t why or how psychological safety is important. Rather, it\u2019s \u2013 how do you increase your team\u2019s psychological safety?<\/p>\n

Here are the steps Santagata took with his Google team to build psychological safety:<\/h4>\n
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  1. Be a Collaborator.<\/strong> We naturally<\/a> hate losing more than we love winning. Perceived losses triggers behaviors to reestablish an even playing field through competition, criticism or disengagement. However, this is a form of workplace helplessness. Santagata suggests looking for a win-win outcome to achieve true success. When conflict arises, you can avoid triggering a fight-or-flight reaction by simply asking yourself and your team \u2013 \u201cHow can we reach a mutually desirable outcome?\u201d<\/li>\n
  2. Practice \u201cJust Like Me.\u201d<\/strong> Recognize deeper needs, such as respect, competence, social status, and autonomy, to elicit trust and promote positive language and behaviors. Santagata advises, even in the most contentious of situations, to remember that the other party is just like you and to consider the following:<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n