Last summer, around this time, we did several posts about Psychological Safety and its importance in every aspect of your life.
We’re continuing to hear from you that you want to create teams where people feel they belong, but you’re still not quite sure how to do that. So, today, we’re going to revisit the concept of psychological safety and then take a deeper dive into some real-life messy situations in the following weeks.
Psychological Safety has always been the foundation of the work that we do. In fact, our definition of leadership is this:
Leadership is the willingness to influence your world and
the willingness to allow your world to influence you,
regardless of your role or title.
In other words, as a leader, your job is to influence people. You give them the best of your experiences. Then, as a leader, you need to let them influence you, as they share their best with you. It doesn’t matter, what role, title, race, background, gender identity, socio-economic status, or nationality that they identify with.
What matters is that you listen to,
and deeply consider
their thoughts, ideas, and experiences.
Amy Edmonson of Harvard University defined psychological safety as:
“a belief that one will not be punished
or humiliated for speaking up with ideas,
questions, concerns, or mistakes,
and that the team is safe
for interpersonal risk-taking”
Spend some time this week thinking about a time when you felt safe to discuss a different opinion, or perhaps share that you had made a mistake. Then, make a list of what stands out for you about that situation. What created that sense of safety?
Let us know what you discover.
How can we support you?
If you’d like support in creating psychological safety
within your team and organization,
contact us today about our
Team and Culture Development.