Building Psychological Safety In The Workplace (Amy Edmondson's 3 Steps for Managers)

Summary

This video explores the concept of psychological safety in the workplace, emphasizing its importance for fostering a collaborative and high-performing team environment. It outlines three key steps for managers to cultivate psychological safety: framing challenges as learning opportunities, acknowledging their own fallibility, and modeling curiosity by actively listening and encouraging team input. The video also highlights the significance of monitoring team dynamics to identify unhealthy behaviors, suggesting that managers seek honest feedback to enhance cooperation and respect among team members. Ultimately, creating psychological safety is essential for driving innovation and engagement within teams.

Takeaways

• 😀 Psychological safety is the sense of security and trust that employees feel in the workplace.
• 🤝 A shared belief in psychological safety leads to open communication, collaboration, and innovation among team members.
• 📈 Teams with psychological safety are more likely to take risks, admit mistakes, and tackle challenging tasks confidently.
• 🔍 Managers can foster psychological safety by framing work as a learning problem rather than an execution problem.
• 🙌 Acknowledging your own fallibility encourages team members to contribute their ideas and insights.
• 💬 Use inclusive language to invite feedback, reinforcing that every team member's voice is valuable.
• ❓ Modeling curiosity and asking open-ended questions helps create an environment where speaking up is encouraged.
• 👥 Monitoring team dynamics is crucial to ensure cooperation and respect among members.
• 📊 Conducting surveys can provide valuable insights into team relationships and areas for improvement.
• ✨ Building psychological safety requires effort but results in a high-performing and highly functional team.

Q & A

What is psychological safety?

Psychological safety is the sense of security and trust that employees feel in the workplace, where their ideas and opinions are valued and respected.

Why is psychological safety important for teams?

It encourages team members to take risks, challenge assumptions, and express their ideas openly, leading to higher engagement, collaboration, and innovative solutions.

What is the first step a manager can take to foster psychological safety?

Frame the work ahead as a learning problem rather than an execution problem, encouraging collaboration over competition.

How can managers communicate the need for team collaboration?

Managers should be clear and transparent about the uncertainty ahead and emphasize the importance of every team member's voice in ensuring success.

What does it mean to acknowledge your own fallibility as a manager?

It means being honest with your team that you don’t have all the answers and actively inviting their input to foster a sense of shared responsibility.

What phrases can managers use to encourage team contributions?

Phrases like 'I might miss something' or 'I need to hear from you' can help signal to the team that their input is valuable.

How can a manager model curiosity in the workplace?

By actively listening and asking questions like 'What's on your mind?' or 'What questions do you have?', managers can create an environment that encourages team members to speak up.

What signs indicate a lack of psychological safety in a team?

Signs include team members appearing disconnected, lacking cooperation or respect for one another, or certain individuals dominating discussions.

How can managers assess team dynamics and psychological safety?

Managers can survey team members about their experiences working together and their perceptions of the team dynamics and leadership.

What is the overall goal of creating psychological safety in a team?

The goal is to build a high-performing and highly functioning team where all members feel safe to contribute and collaborate effectively.