{"id":5750,"date":"2022-01-12T21:11:00","date_gmt":"2022-01-13T01:11:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/followgreg.com\/ftravel\/?p=5750"},"modified":"2023-02-24T21:12:22","modified_gmt":"2023-02-25T01:12:22","slug":"does-your-org-pass-the-psychological-safety-test","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/followgreg.com\/ftravel\/2022\/01\/12\/does-your-org-pass-the-psychological-safety-test\/","title":{"rendered":"Does Your Org Pass the Psychological Safety Test?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Managers have a long history of ignoring employees\u2019 feelings. As recently as a decade ago, employees\u2019 emotions didn\u2019t enter into the equation for workplace decision-making \u2014 arguably, managers didn\u2019t even give much thought to their own emotions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But today, the conversation has changed. It turns out employees are human beings who can\u2019t be detached from their emotions for the sake of productivity. A few years ago, Google researchers<\/a> found that a sense of psychological safety is one of the most important factors in successful teams. It\u2019s clear that treating people well creates not just a better workplace, but better work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve been thinking about psychological safety (and the book\u2019s amazing illustrations) a lot since reading \u201cNo Hard Feelings: The Secret Power of Embracing Emotions at Work<\/a>\u201d by Liz Fosslien and Mollie West Duffy. Fosslien and Duffy outline a method for assessing psychological safety that asks participants to rate their team on five criteria:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. If I make a mistake on my team, it is often held against me.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Members of my team are able to bring up problems and tough issues.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. It is safe to take a risk on this team.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. It is difficult to ask other members of this team for help.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. Working with members of this team, my unique skills and talents are valued and utilized.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Spoiler alert: You\u2019re looking for high agreement with 2, 3 and 5, and low scores for 1 and 4. While just one measure of employees\u2019 comfort at work, these criteria have helped me consider where our leadership is succeeding and how we can improve. From my perspective, the assessment shows that psychological safety shouldn\u2019t be considered a perk, but the minimum of a healthy, functioning workplace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Cultivating workplace safety is even more important today because in the remote era, work has infiltrated our home life. From bedroom Zooms to living room conference calls, the damage of unsafe workplaces grows when it seeps into employees\u2019 personal spaces. So, how can we embrace emotions at work and make 2022 a year when we prioritize psychological safety? It\u2019s a work in progress for me, but I have a few ideas about where to start.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    1.Treat people like people.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    It\u2019s time to move beyond the era of \u201cspreadsheet leadership.\u201d Employees are more than a collection of data points and performance metrics \u2014 and they always have been. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Building a great company requires an environment where people feel safe, fulfilled, aligned and productive. That starts with recognizing employees\u2019 humanity and thinking beyond the antiquated view of business as \u201cinfluencing people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Part of this process involves ensuring everyone feels comfortable making mistakes, putting themselves out there and speaking up in whatever room they\u2019re in. Without a baseline of safety, it\u2019s hard to thrive and grow as an organization. More than ever, the world demands that companies be adaptable, breathing organizations. Opening the floor to \u201cbad\u201d ideas and embracing design thinking<\/a> concepts like failing fast and questioning everything allows us to respond adequately. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    When I hire someone, I look for people who believe in our company vision and treat everyone well. When I find people who fit, I don\u2019t need to micromanage utilization, vacation time or daily tasks, because I trust who I\u2019ve hired. I am also focusing on creating this standard for all hiring managers within our organization. Placing trust in employees builds happiness, which improves team performance, which contributes to happiness. It\u2019s a pretty reliable cycle for which I don\u2019t need to consult a spreadsheet. Plus, at a time when many people have expanded job opportunities, why would any employee choose to stay at a place where their feelings don\u2019t matter? They wouldn\u2019t \u2014 and none of us should.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    2. Celebrate and accommodate differences.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Throughout my career, I\u2019ve been in many meetings that required me to report on activity. In a room with a handful of peers, we\u2019d go down the line and share what we did that week, based on the idea that creating competition inspires us to outdo each other. To me, this leadership style is psychologically damaging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Everyone works differently and moves at different paces, and that should be OK. Just as a clock needs small, fast-moving gears and large, slow-turning gears to function, organizations need people who think and work differently. Regardless of how much space you give employees to \u201cspeak up,\u201d certain team members will never communicate this way. Improving team comfort at work includes creating other avenues for employees to communicate, like one-on-one meetings or asking their thoughts on specific challenges. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    At Brooks Bell, we use DiSC styles as a tool for understanding how people work. This system emphasizes that different is different, not better or worse. People\u2019s needs vary, and working in an office filled with the same types of people wouldn\u2019t benefit anyone. A healthy, productive and psychologically safe workplace should view unique personalities and workstyles as an asset, not a drawback.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    3. Emphasize transparency.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I don\u2019t have all the answers \u2014 but I never pretend to. I believe it\u2019s important for leaders to model humility, transparency and honesty when they don\u2019t know something so their team understands it\u2019s OK to ask questions and work toward understanding. Many schools of thought go back to, \u201cI\u2019m the boss, so you do what I say.\u201d To me, this creates a transactional relationship, not a true partnership. Because I\u2019m transparent through both stability and uncertainty, my team knows that when I say something, I mean it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I don\u2019t think it\u2019s possible to achieve true team empowerment or buy-in in a psychologically unsafe environment or one driven by a dictatorial leader. I\u2019ve learned that it\u2019s my job to envision the destination and trust my team to help us create the roadmap. When a leader never admits fault or lack of knowledge, employees don\u2019t have opportunities to bring their full talents to their table.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Take the assessment from a leadership perspective<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Here\u2019s a challenge. Let\u2019s flip Fosseline and Duffy\u2019s assessment from the perspective of you as a leader: Be honest with yourself and then see what it reveals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n
    1. If someone makes a mistake on my team, I hold it against them.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    2. I frequently hear from members of my team about problems and tough issues.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    3. I point out and compliment team members when they take risks.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    4. My team asks for help.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    5. I clearly identify unique skills and talents within my team and think about how best to utilize their talents.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

      This version can paint a clearer picture of where we come up short. As we embark on a new year, it\u2019s a good time to refocus on these goals and incorporate practices that boost psychological safety into our everyday work lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      My focus for the future<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Leading a business right now is challenging. Lines between work and home life have blurred, job candidates have more options than ever and uncertainty continues to loom. With this backdrop, how do you cultivate an environment where people actually want to work?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      In my view, it has to start with psychological safety. When you treat people right and create a respectful, empowering workplace, you plant the seed for teams that are energized, aligned and fulfilled. In 2022, it\u2019s time to stop focusing on \u201cmaximizing employee productivity,\u201d and start helping them thrive as humans.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Managers have a long history of ignoring employees\u2019 feelings. As recently as a decade ago, employees\u2019 emotions didn\u2019t enter into … Continue ReadingDoes Your Org Pass the Psychological Safety Test?<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5751,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wp_social_preview_title":"","wp_social_preview_description":"","wp_social_preview_image":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[78],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5750","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-leadership"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/followgreg.com\/ftravel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5750","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/followgreg.com\/ftravel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/followgreg.com\/ftravel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/followgreg.com\/ftravel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/followgreg.com\/ftravel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5750"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/followgreg.com\/ftravel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5750\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5752,"href":"https:\/\/followgreg.com\/ftravel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5750\/revisions\/5752"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/followgreg.com\/ftravel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5751"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/followgreg.com\/ftravel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5750"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/followgreg.com\/ftravel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5750"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/followgreg.com\/ftravel\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5750"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}