According to Gallup, only 21% of U.S. employees strongly agree that they trust the leadership of their organization. There are many ways executives and managers can build a culture of trust, and one of the most important elements is fostering psychological safety.
Amy Edmondson, a Harvard Business School professor, coined the term psychological safety, and defined it as “a shared belief held by members of a team that it’s OK to take risks, to express their ideas and concerns, to speak up with questions, and to admit mistakes — all without fear of negative consequences.”
Even the most approachable and supportive managers need to focus on creating psychological safety, as some employees may hold back from sharing their true opinions or perspective, because as a manager, you hold a position of authority.
Building psychological safety in the workplace is crucial for fostering a culture of trust, collaboration, and innovation.
Here are some key strategies leaders can use to cultivate psychological safety:
- Encourage constructive conflict. Many leaders approach all conflict as bad, but constructive conflict is necessary and healthy for teams. Managers should encourage healthy conflict by asking for differing points of view. Many teams hover more toward artificial harmony—where employees don’t speak up, and go along with decisions to preserve harmony, even if they disagree. Both destructive conflict and artificial harmony are toxic to teams because they don’t foster an environment where employees can speak their mind without fear of consequences.
Even in cultures that are very positive, employees may hold back for fear of going against the positive narrative, so it’s important for leaders in all organizations to foster psychological safety.
- When possible, listen before you share. When a leader shares their ideas first in a meeting, employees will often agree because they want to preserve the relationship or don’t feel comfortable disagreeing with their boss.
When possible, solicit ideas from team members before you share your perspective to surface different ideas and opinions.
- Actively invite differing opinions. It’s not enough to just ask what team members think. To foster psychological safety, use specific questions and statements that encourage constructive conflict. For example:
- Who has an idea that is different than the ones already shared?
- I want to hear from someone who disagrees.
- I’m open to feedback on this. Tell me why and how my idea won’t work.
- Who has a different view on this topic?
This not only encourages different perspectives and constructive conflict, but it also demonstrates that leaders are expecting employees to disagree and normalizes differing views.
- Acknowledge opposing views. When an employee has the courage to disagree with you or a colleague constructively, acknowledge it. This fosters a sense of safety; employees will feel more comfortable disagreeing and sharing their true ideas and opinions because you have demonstrated these differing viewpoints are welcomed.
For example, “Jane, I appreciate you sharing that you disagree with the direction we have been discussing for this project.” Even if you don’t agree with the employee’s view, you can still acknowledge them for speaking up.
- Regularly check in with each individual and your team. Go beyond using your individual and team meetings for only discussing tasks and projects. Two or three times a year, go deeper by asking questions about how you can improve the working relationship. I like to use this framework:
- What is working well?
- What is not working well?
- How can I support you better?
I suggest giving employee time to reflect on these questions before you ask them to share. If you let your team members know that you will have this discussion regularly to ensure the team is working at their best, you make these discussions part of how you work together, and over time, most employees will become more comfortable sharing their ideas and perspectives.
- Model accountability. One of the best and most important ways to build a culture of trust and authenticity is to ensure that your words and actions align. People don’t follow what you say, they follow what you do. It’s often the small things that chip away at trust and integrity.
Following through on even the small things can also build a team of trust, accountability, and psychological safety. Model accountability in your everyday actions—be on time, follow through with commitments, and admit mistakes. When employees see their leader not only do what they say, but share when they make mistakes, they are more likely to do the same.
Creating psychological safety on your team and in your organizational culture takes consistent focus and intention. The healthiest cultures build in practices at every leadership level to solicit the real truth from employees.
I really love and enjoy this reading. Reading this I learned that when you speak out clearly you thoughts and ideas people see you as winner, because you are not afraid to go straight to the point.
Great article.....And happy belated birthday! Welcome to my world, young lady!
Whenever I have a work project that I keep putting off - I think about delegating that project to someone else - which accomplishes 2 things- it gets the project done and frees us my brain space thinking about it.
Good morning. I loved this read. Thank you so much for sharing. Sincerely, Melissa :)
Thank you for this blog Laurie. I liked most part and specially "As organizations have become more complex, there is a tendency to require employees to do more with less. This is a slippery slope, and often can result in employees feeling overwhelmed and burnt out. One of the biggest contributors to this is not evaluating resources during the strategic planning process." I will use this practice "A best practice is to do what I call Priority Planning—putting important practices on your calendar ahead of time so they become a priority in your day. Examples of activities to Priority Plan include scheduling recurring coaching sessions with each team member, time for strategic thinking and planning, vacations, doctor appointments, important children’s events, and blocks of time for focused work on projects." To be more effective, I will get a good rest so I can have enough energy in the morning. I will read the blog again along with the other links on employee evaluation. Thank you so much Laurie. Best wishes to you and your family.
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I love the feedback on the more than 50 hours of work. AND filling time. So true. Unfortunately, showing that you work longer hours is still seen as being a "hard worker" - not sure how to change that though.
I enjoyed the read. I concur that transitioning from technical skills to delegating results was a task within itself. I did not realize I was almost trying to do the same thing from my previous position, and it was not working. However, I am seeing the results of how delegating daily tasks makes my job and workload easier. Thank you, Laurie.
Thank you for sharing information about your trip Laurie! All 3 things resonate with me - probably #1 being the biggest. I know when I'm gone for a week, I'm still thinking about work and need a vacation when I get back because I did not relax enough. I think your idea of a longer vacation is definitely in my future!!
Hey Laurie, My take on your list - 1 - everyone has a story - listen 2- social media causes interpersonal problems 5- generational differences create hurdles / earn it you aren't entitled / we should help them get there not give it to them 6 AMEN some leaders I would have followed thru Hell, some I wish - well, you know 7- true BUT be as good as your word and 14- Hopefully we leave some good from our efforts, I know the good leaders I have had have. Seen a lot in my career but it really comes down to treat others the way you want to be treated, fair, honest, and straight forward. Good read. Take care
I love this so much and thank you so much for sharing! I really just love realizing that enjoying the simple things sometimes is the best! Also recognizing that what is important and fun to you may not be everyone else's fun on the on the trip. “Do we get to keep these toiletries?” was my favorite!!!! :):) Glad you had a great time and got to spend it with your family!
I very much resonate with lesson no 3! Thank you Laurie
I think the part that you might have missed in their top 5 things, some of which were not "Italian" or even different from home, all of them happened with you, both of you. And i think that is what they will remember too. And you've got tons of photos that will remind them of what the Sistine Chapel looked like - then they might remember what it sounded like or smelled like. Oh- and i agree with you 100% about sleep!
LOTS of great take-aways from this post! Thank you for posting! I especially love "slow down to speed up". That's a keeper!
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the not getting enough rest to be at my best. definitely need to get more quality sleep and make that a priority
It really is hard to narrow down the 3 lessons into one because they are all so interconnected. You need to give your mind and body THE TIME to relax SO THAT you can enjoy the SIMPLE THINGS, including REST. I enjoyed that lesson as a whole. I will take that lesson with me on my next vacation (or staycation). As always, thank you Laurie for your candor and for sharing your own lessons with others so that we too can benefit.
Great information and reminders
Laurie, Thank you for sharing your trip and these nuggets. The lessons that resonate most with me are it does take time to relax and getting proper rest. When you devote 15 plus hours of your day for work, taking care of home and others; the 6-7 hours you lay down does not cut it! For me during this time I'm trying to unwind and find myself thinking fighting not to think about what I have to do tomorrow. Even after I create a to do list for the next day...I find things I need to add. Taking a day off here and there doesn't cut it as well because of all the plans you have for that day. I try to make sure my Mental Health Days remains just that.... time for me to laugh, cry, scream.... whatever I need to release the cares and stress!
Really enjoyed the article... and all very true!
Since I was already well aware of #1 (I'm in the same boat with taking a long time to relax), I think I'm resonating most with #3. I'm learning to prioritize sleep / rest and it's been wonderful. Love that you said "I love sleep.". :)
Welcome back from vacation. Well deserve! Action is the key to success. Shoulder to shoulder, coaching and delegating task to help other employees grow are very important. It is a sacrifice that one must do. Forget about yourself and be with your team day in and out to help them grow, is not always easy. On the long run, your team is stronger, and you can depend on them for the success of the organization. Thank you so much!
So many great tips here, thank you!
I am so impressed you're able to disconnect and these are great tips I'll be sure to try on my next trip!
Such a great post - so inspiring!