Are you Building Psychological Safety on your Team?

In our work world of ever-increasing anxiety, the topic of psychological safety is more prevalent than ever. Simply put, psychological safety is being able to show and employ one's self without fear of negative consequences of self-image, status or career (Kahn 1990, p. 708). This sense of feeling safe and secure is fundamental to not only our well-being, but the health and vitality of our workplaces, businesses and teams. In fact, if anything will inhibit our productivity, it's this. If I don't feel safe at work, how can I keep my mind on my work, let alone be fully engaged and productive?

So how do we protect our people and create this safe environment and whose job is it to do this? I propose that the key to safety lies within our teams. This should be the place where employees feel protected and secure. The team is the place where all true productivity occurs, where team members bring complementary skills together to create something new and build something together that is more than the sum of the efforts of each team member. If I don't feel safe in that environment I am hardly able to contribute.

“You can't control what others say and do, but you are the shepherd of the flock, the keeper of the keys to the kingdom. It is your job to step in and protect the team.”

On the contrary, though, in turbulent times, if teams close ranks to protect and support one another great things can happen. When we feel like we have a voice, when our work matters, when we can share openly that we need support, when we can give and receive feedback, then we will not only feel safe, we will thrive! This all happens within the team. Working as a lone wolf or maverick presents no safety, and subsequently, very little productivity. No, we need to run with the pack, feel the support and belonging of the team.

Team members will experience psychological safety when they can make the following four statements:

• "I believe in what we are doing."
• "I know my role and place in the team and I feel valued."
• "I support my team and feel support in my own work."
• "Together, we measure our progress and are open to helping each other."

“When you own something you belong to it. If something belongs to you, then you look after it.”

So how do teams become safe places? Whose role is it to lead the charge? I firmly believe that leaders create the system and structure of the team. If you are a leader, your role is to create the boundaries that protect your team. In my recent book Superpower: Release the Potential in Your Team, I share the DNA of a great team, the four elements that every team needs to be successful. This creates the fences for the team, as it were, within which team members can operate. Great teams have a clear purpose, defined organization, clear rules of execution and share the measurement of success. What great teams really have is 'ownership'. When team members have participated in the creation of the team strategy they own the team. When you own something you belong to it. If something belongs to you, then you look after it. It's the same logic on our teams. If I belong to this group of fellow teammates and we all own our mission and share in its progress and success then I will keep a watch on my fellow mate and they on me.

“The storms are raging, the sky is full of darkened clouds, the wolves are out on the hunt. Walk the perimeter, reinforce your fences, check on your flock and ensure they feel safe.”

If built correctly (or rebuilt correctly if you need to hit the reset button), teams should be the safest place on earth, apart from our families (which is actually just another team). If your team is not this place, if there is dissention, gossip, fear, reprisal, negativity or the like, then as the leader, you must step up and take responsibility. This may seem harsh. You can't control what others say and do, but you are the shepherd of the flock, the keeper of the keys to the kingdom. It is yours to step in and protect the team.

As a leader, your role is first to form your team. I suggest you pick up a copy of my book (blatant advertisement here) and find the four step process, the PowerTeam Compass™, to build your best team and share ownership with your team members. After that, be vigilant for anything that disrupts or robs the team of its productivity. The four points of the PowerTeam Compass™ reflect the four statements of psychological safety. Where any team member cannot make the statements that I have shared above, you as a leader need to act. You may need to clarify your mission, you may need to help people see their place and articulate their worth and value. You may need to intervene in situations that are causing fear or a feeling of a lack of support. Or you may need to reinforce a culture of working together and taking ownership as a team of your progress and results.

You, as the leader, are not responsible for how anyone feels, but you are responsible that you have created a safe environment. The storms are raging, the sky is full of darkened clouds, the wolves are out on the hunt. Walk the perimeter, reinforce your fences, check on your flock and ensure they feel safe.

For an effective method to build a powerful, high-performing and productive team, pick up your copy of Superpower: Release the Potential in your Team. Learn more at MarkFrezell.com