Psychological Safety
Last week I was buying a few groceries. As I approached the bakery the store manager started shouting at an employee. The shop went silent. Clients scurried away. The staff member tried to respond to the accusations hurled at her. The Manager did not let up or give her a chance to respond. I could see her literally shrink as the shouting continued and was ignored. I never stayed to hear what the issue was. As a customer I felt unsafe, imagine how that employee felt?
How safe do you feel at work? Are you able to speak honestly, ask questions, admit mistakes and challenge ideas? Will you be shouted at, humiliated, blamed or possibly be punished should you have the courage to speak out. Organisations were designed to accomplish a purpose. To do this they bring people, resources and systems together to achieve specific outcomes. In most cases individuals would not be as successful or effectively on their own. A team is needed to ensure that the organisation can perform as required.
A further challenge is that the best people are appointed; however when they start to question or challenge ideas, they are requested to keep their ideas to themselves. Is this not counter productive! When you appoint a candidate to a position we need to fully trust that they have your best interests in mind – that they will give their best! If they need to consistently protect and defend themselves, will they feel safe? How can they perform at their best?
In a world which is seeking more control, some may say over-managed, the average employee is surrounded by micromanagers. Once again the question is “Will an employee be able to deliver their best in this environment”? The role of leader is always to create other leaders and unlock the best in their team members.
What are the practical steps that leaders can take to ensure Psychological Safety?
1. Respond well to bad news
When someone raises a problem, avoid blame as the first reaction. It is better to say:
“Thank you for raising this early. Let’s understand what happened and what we can learn.” Hearing the bad news early from an employee is far better than hearing that bad news from a client.
2. Admit your own mistakes
When you admit, “I got that wrong,” it gives others permission to be honest. We all will at some stage make a mistake – learn from that mistake. An admission shows that you are humble enough to admit failures.
3. Ask better questions
By asking the right question, solutions can be found easier and earlier. It does not help much to ask, “Who caused this?” A better question to ask is: “What happened?”
“What did we miss?” “What can we improve?” When leaders ask questions this encourages others in the team to also ask questions.
4. Invite different views
Context is important and not everyone sees the situation in the same way. If five people with blindfolds are placed at the foot, trunk, tail and belly of an elephant. When asked what type of animal they are touching, each person will have a different “view” or opinion. Everyone is touching the same elephant however our perspective will differ. Ask the following questions:
“What are we not seeing?” “Who has a different view?” “What would make this decision fail?”
5. Resist sarcasm, never humiliate or publicly shame anyone
A joke or sarcasm at someone’s expense can quickly destroy trust. Admire and compliment in public, correct privately. At all costs protect people’s dignity. It is very difficult to give your best when you have been belittled.
Issues will occur, accidents will happen and mistakes will be made. Leaders need the emotional intelligence to deal with the situation while providing a psychologically safe environment. When employees do not feel safe they are less effective. This has a direct impact on the productivity of the organisation.
Always put yourself in your employee’s shoes should you ever be arrogant enough to ignore or shout at them
Want to build a team where people feel safe to give their best?
Paul Tanton
Leadership Entrepreneur and Coach
