When was the last time you had a meeting where people shared dissenting ideas or challenged prevailing opinions? Have you thought everyone agreed on a decision, and then later heard through the office grapevine that some folks have concerns, criticisms or valuable input they withheld? Those behaviours can sometimes indicate a lack of cohesion among team members but they can also be a sign of deeper challenges around psychological safety in your workplace.
Building psychological safety is everyone’s responsibility but leadership is accountable for setting the tone and culture for psychological safety to exist.
Creating psychological safety doesn’t mean that everyone agrees and there is no conflict. On the contrary, silence is frequently a sign that your team members are holding back because they don’t feel comfortable speaking up.
That unspoken tension and silence inhibits accountability, growth, innovation and good decision-making.
What is psychological safety and why does it matter?
Psychological safety is a term that was popularized by Harvard researcher Amy C. Edmondson that refers to a workplace environment in which it feels safe to share opinions or concerns with candor and take risks without fear of being humiliated or penalized.
In a recent HBR article, Edmondson and fellow researcher Michaela J. Kerrissey discuss that what many folks get wrong about creating psychological safety is that it doesn’t mean making an environment of comfort and niceness. On the contrary, real psychological safety means there is respectful conflict around ideas, even when sharing the truth feels uncomfortable.
At Padraig, we use Dr. Timothy R. Clark’s 4 Stages of Psychological Safety model as the basis for our psychological safety work with clients.
Dr. Clark’s model is a progressive path that individuals and teams follow to feel safe and engaged in the workplace. Here’s a summary of each of the four stages:
- Inclusion Safety—“I feel included.”
Folks feel accepted and welcomed as members of the team, no matter what their background, role or identity. This feeling of being included is the foundation for trust and belonging. - Learner Safety—“I feel safe to learn.”
Team members feel comfortable and safe in the workplace to ask questions, make mistakes and receive feedback without fear of embarrassment or punishment. - Contributor Safety—“I feel safe to contribute.”
Each team member feels empowered and welcome to share ideas, offer input and make a difference. Their skills, experience and contributions are valued. - Challenger Safety—“I feel safe to challenge the status quo.”
Folks feel secure enough to speak up, criticize, question decisions and propose changes. This includes challenging existing norms, leaders or other authority figures.
With this model, each of the four stages builds on the last. Ideally, individuals and teams move from basic inclusion to courageous innovation.
Creating psychological safety is critical because it is the foundation for high-performing teams as it drives engagement, innovation, adaptive performance and resilience.
This is backed by research. Both the Harvard Business School and McKinsey have reported that organizations with high psychological safety are more likely to:
- be more agile.
- retain talent.
- innovate faster.
- collaborate effectively.
- deliver better results.
In today’s ever-changing workplace, agility and creativity are competitive advantages. Leaders can’t afford to ignore the power of creating psychological safety.
Signs your team lacks psychological safety
Sometimes, leaders aren’t sure whether they have a cohesive team or if there’s a lack of psychological safety. This is especially true in polite cultures or hierarchical workplaces.
Here are some warning signs to watch for:
- Team members hide mistakes, especially from those above them.
- Folks avoid giving feedback or voicing dissent (it’s too easy to get consensus).
- Silence dominates meetings.
- Agreement is surface-level, with grumbling outside the meeting and no follow-through.
- People are afraid to take ownership of tasks or projects.
- Team members don’t ask each other or managers for help.
- There is hesitancy to share new ideas.
- Leaders haven’t heard any bad news lately.
These types of behaviours are usually the result of previous negative experiences, mistrust and unclear expectations. They typically occur when there is fear of being judged or shamed.
Creating psychological safety
There are actions leaders can take to build psychological safety on their teams and within the organization.
- Model vulnerability and curiosity. Your actions will set the tone in the workplace. Admit when you’re wrong or make an error because it takes emotional courage to make mistakes and learn from them. Ask open-ended questions and show curiosity even if you don’t agree at first. This invites others to do the same. A willingness to learn from others and grow builds trust and encourages others to take risks.
- Create regular opportunities for folks to speak up. Build ways into work routines for people to share ideas. This might be a weekly or monthly round-robin check-in, anonymous surveys, one-to-one meetings and regular debriefs after projects. This signals to everyone that all voices matter, not just the loudest or the most senior.
- Watch how you respond to concerns or challenges. Don’t shoot the messenger! If someone comes to you with critical feedback or bad news, respond with appreciation. Thank them for coming to you and listen to understand, not to respond. If you can hear something negative or uncomfortable without being defensive, it reinforces that speaking up is a strength and not a threat that could result in retribution. The way in which you respond will define whether team members will take risks in future.
- Reward learning, not just successful outcomes. When leaders learn from and celebrate the learning gained through failures, it shows everyone that taking smart risks and experimenting is innovation in action. What lessons were learned that could inform the next attempt? Use a feedforward approach to give important feedback without shattering someone’s self-confidence and motivation.
Challenges leaders may face
When leaders work at creating psychological safety—particularly if this is a big culture shift—they may find it difficult. Here are some common challenges:
- Fear of being undermined or losing authority. It can feel very strange to ask for input, especially if a leader is used to being the authority. Asking for honest, candid feedback takes vulnerability and trust because you can’t control what concerns are raised. Effective leaders learn that criticism is a chance to listen. Hearing worthy feedback and encouraging collaboration around ideas will make you a stronger leader.
- Resisting accountability. It can feel very uncomfortable for a leader to learn that their own actions may have contributed to an issue or failure. There are times when some leaders will focus on what other individuals did or did not do while downplaying what they did or didn’t do. When leaders get better at being accountable, it builds trust and respect (and models this positive behaviour to all team members). Remember that leaders who can’t handle criticism and are defensive create a culture where team members are less likely to speak up in case they face repercussions.
- Rebuilding trust takes time and effort. When there is unhealthy conflict (usually between individuals), it can take time to rebuild trust after a breach. It requires understanding what happened, having the humility to take accountability and apologize and demonstrating consistent behaviour to build trust going forward.
Creating psychological safety requires daily leadership behaviours that foster an environment that values and rewards respectful conflict around ideas and taking smart risks. When speaking up feels risky, that is a clear sign that more safety is required—not less honesty.
Committing to curiosity, appreciating candid feedback and learning from failure will encourage your team members to grow, innovate and challenge themselves and others.
Coach’s Questions
When was the last time you admitted you were wrong in front of your team? How do you respond when your team members challenge you? What can you do to encourage folks to voice their concerns, discomfort or dissent?
