How to Build and Support Psychologically Safe Workplaces

Episode 4.18: Understanding why “Psychologically Safe” workspaces are important is easy– it’s the “how” we make our spaces safe that can be a little more complicated. Joining us today to help us better understand this challenge are Dr. Karolin Helbig, Founding Partner of New-work-leadership.com and Minette Norman, Founder and Principal of Minette Norman Consulting LLC, authors of The Psychological Safety Playbook: Lead More Powerfully by Being More Human. Here, they explain:What it means for a workplace to be "psychologically safe";The benefits of psychological safety in the workplace; The five specific "plays" leaders can make to improve psychological safety within their teams; andImportance of leadership authenticity in creating psychologically safe workplaces! If you prefer to read along while you listen, we've done all the hard work for you! We listened back to this episode and took notes below, and access is free!  Defining Psychological SafetyPsychological safety is a feeling that occurs when an individual is on a team where they’re invited to share openly without fear or anxiety. When individuals feel psychologically safe they’ll be more likely to do the following behaviors: share ideas, question decisions and groupthink, take risks, ask questions, and not fear the risk of failing. Groupthink is the pressure to conform and agree with everyone else. This arises from a lack of psychological safety and is an idea and inspiration killer.  UNLOCK THE FULL EPISODE COMPANION GUIDEGet all the notes, links, tips, tricks and most important content from this episode - for free!Show me!By signing up you agree to our terms Psychological safety is important because not only does it allow people to do important workplace activities, but they can also show up to do their best work being authentically themselves – the person they want to be. Individuals can usually detect when they are not in a psychologically safe workplace. Almost all employees have felt this at one time or another. Behaviors that occur when individuals feel psychologically unsafe include hiding their real perspective, feeling afraid to ask questions for fear of humiliation, and not feeling comfortable with being themselves.Employees in these circumstances mask their identities and conform to the overarching group norms. Leaders in these circumstances may refuse to admit mistakes or show vulnerability. A lack of psychological safety harms a company’s culture because an organization will miss out on the diversity of viewpoints, ways of thinking, and experiences usually sought after in talent acquisition. A diverse workforce is only as diverse as creating conditions where everyone can show up as themselves, can speak up, and challenge even the group’s prevailing viewpoints and norms. Without this, a company truly won’t benefit from diverse hiring choices. Psychological safety in the workplace is not just a “nice-to-have,” so everyone feels comfortable. It ensures you get the most out of your diverse workforce to create high-performing teams.Paying attention to psychological safety will have a positive bottom-line effect, as demonstrated by several studies by Amy Edmondson.A focus on creating psychologically safe workplaces attempts to help every employee do their best work.How To Create Psychologically Safe WorkplacesPsychologically safe workplaces have to be created intentionally and cultivated deliberately. In Dr. Helbig and Ms. Norman’s book, they developed five “plays” centered around a high-level topic, with five specific “moves” or actions a leader can take. These moves are five tangible things a leader can do immediately to create a psychologically safe workplace. Those plays are: Communicate CourageouslyMaster the Art of ListeningManage Your ReactionsEmbrace Risk and FailureDesign Inclusive RitualsSmall actions that are done consistently make a big change in the psychological safety of your workplace.