Building Trust: The Power of Psychological Safety in the Workplace

By Kimari Pitman

As a leader, you have likely experienced this before: an employee communicates a challenge to you after the fact, rather than highlighting it early on in a project. Or perhaps an employee refines a process to increase efficiencies, but chooses to keep it to themselves instead of sharing it with the broader team. On the surface, it might appear as though this employee is not a team player. While leadership might initially write off their actions as indifference to the organization’s success, in reality leadership may inadvertently be perpetuating the issue.

Employee (in)actions like these might actually be the result of fear and a feeling that leadership does not value their voice or give them a safe space to share that information. So, what is missing from the employee’s environment that makes it difficult for them to take on the “risk” of putting themselves out there and highlighting these elements? More than likely, the answer is psychological safety.

What is Psychological Safety?

Psychological safety, coined by Harvard Business School professor Amy Edmondson, refers to the shared belief that teamwork spaces are safe for interpersonal risk-taking and create the opportunity for more effective collaboration and creative problem-solving. Psychological safety in the workplace consists of four stages, with each stage based on increased respect and permission, all without fear of being embarrassed, marginalized, or punished in some way. Achieving the fourth stage reinforces employee acceptance while encouraging employees to take risks and earn respect for doing so.

 What Psychological Safety is NOT?

The term psychological safety tends to be misunderstood and thought to be about protecting workers’ mental health or protecting workers from psychological harm. However, it’s a specific, targeted concept critical for innovation and success. Here are a few things that psychological safety is not:

  • A control mechanism. Trust is essential. Misusing the term psychological safety to create a false sense of trust can result in a toxic work environment and erode the term’s meaning.

  • Replacement for employee accountability. Leaders must still hold employees accountable for their actions; however, they should allot the space to share their thoughts and make contributions without fear of being penalized.

  • Handholding or coddling employees. Leaders should not treat one employee any differently than the next. Exercising psychological safety gives each individual the respect and autonomy they need to own their role.

Why is Psychological Safety in the Workplace Important?

A workplace may see such immediate benefits of reinforcing psychological safety as an increase in employee productivity and engagement that result in higher performing teams. A survey conducted by Quantam Workplace found that workplaces with increased psychological safety saw a 27% reduction in turnover (Quantumworkplace, 2021). At the same time, according to a 2021 McKinsey survey, only 26% of leaders are creating psychologically safe environments for their teams. This reflects a pressing need for leadership to proactively evaluate the psychological safety gaps in their organization.

How Can Leaders Increase the Level of Psychological Safety in your Organization?

  1. If not already in place, leaders can institute a pulse check survey to determine the organization’s points of weakness and intentionally reinforce efforts where needed. This will give leadership a more rounded perspective on their workforce’s needs.  

  2. Organizations might also choose to examine the soft skills of their leadership teams and redefine how teams engage by instituting some of the following behaviors:

  • Define team values and behaviors and confirm alignment on expectations.

  • Hold people accountable for negative behaviors.

  • Admit fault first.

  • Explain the reason for the change.

  • Exercise inclusive decision making.

  • Invite feedback (or advice).

Psychological safety does not happen overnight. Leadership must prioritize fostering a culture of learning and innovation for team members to make them comfortable speaking up, taking risks, and sharing information. This does not happen by default, but emerges with effort, curiosity, and care.

Company CultureMichelle Wandrespsychological safety, workplace environmentComment