What is psychological safety?

CEOs expect to handle their share of bad news, such as missing quarterly goals, pushing back a product release due to logistical delays, or replacing one of their best employees. Although none of these are pleasant to deal with, team members who feel psychologically safe at work should feel capable of delivering the news without fear of how leadership will react.

Keep reading to learn more about psychological safety, plus tips for creating a space where team members feel comfortable being themselves while collaborating with others.

The Security Offered by Psychological Safety

Psychological safety is the belief that people at all levels of an organization, particularly within teams, can express themselves and ask questions without fear of negative consequences. People should feel comfortable asking for help, questioning ideas, sharing suggestions, or bringing up tough issues without fear of being disregarded, discouraged, or derided.

Bill Eckstrom, founder and CEO of Ecsell Institute, sees psychological safety as “foundational to the growth and performance of every team.” Ideally, a workplace with psychological safety in place would see employees easily answering ‘yes’ to questions like:

• Do I feel safe being my authentic self?
• Do I feel safe sharing my thoughts, attitudes, and opinions?
• Do I feel safe asking questions?
• Do I feel safe making decisions within boundaries, but without the fear of being attacked if it doesn’t go exactly as planned?

Without this safety net, team members are less likely to share because they don’t have the security of knowing that their thoughts are valued. Teams that openly welcome diverse opinions, new perspectives, and experimental ideas not only experience higher employee engagement, but they also benefit from more interesting and innovative solutions.

Establishing Psychological Safety

The leader’s emotions and outlook can set the tone for psychological safety, and it’s vital for leaders throughout the organization to implement psychological safety practices. Although 86% of individual contributors and managers reported the presence of psychological safety at work (compared to 93% of executives), research from Wiley indicates that “only 53% of individual contributors said they feel safe taking risks at their organizations, compared to 64% of managers, 55% of supervisors, 71% of directors and 76% of executives.”

Taking risks is just one component of psychological safety, but there’s clearly room for improvement in creating a safe space for every team member. Use the following tips to get started or or build on your current measures.

Encourage open communication

Promote a variety of communication methods so people feel comfortable sharing and can access the method that fits them. Look for communication barriers that prevent open dialogue, and examine ways to create better systems for communicating.

Reframe mistakes

Accepting mistakes and failures as a normal part of the nature of work allows your team to feel okay about trying again — provided that you use mistakes as a learning opportunity.

• Establish expectations and norms so people know what’s expected of them, and how to calculate the risk of experimenting.
• Ask what they think happened, what they learned, and how they’ll apply that next time. This data can be used to create even better solutions going forward.
• Share mistakes you’ve made and how you learned from them. Displays of vulnerability can help team members feel more comfortable taking risks and taking ownership of how things turn out.

Show appreciation for contributions

Explain how their contributions bring value to the work you’re doing. Recognizing accomplishments, whether it’s reaching big quarterly goals or bringing up tough issues at a group meeting, can help people see their own value while also helping them understand how the team’s individual contributions make a difference for everybody.

Psychological safety offers employees the opportunity to bring their true selves to work, allowing them to share their unique skills and viewpoints for the benefit of the team. By establishing a culture where challenging topics and hard questions are used to drive growth instead of instill fear, you empower your teams to perform with confidence.