What is Psychological Safety?
Psychological safety enables candour and openness and will thrive in an environment with mutual respect. It creates an environment where people feel challenged and work collaboratively to achieve ambitious goals. It means that people believe they can (and must!) speak up at work for the team’s greater good.
“It describes people’s perceptions of the consequences of taking interpersonal risks in a particular context, such as a workplace.”
“A belief that one will not be punished or humiliated for speaking up with ideas, questions, concerns, or mistakes. And that contributions will be welcomed.”
Professor Amy C. Edmondson
“People who are afraid will not do their best work. They will not be satisfied with their job. They will unlikely ask for help, notify you of a mistake, or share any great ideas they may have.”
What is Psychological Safety and Why it Matters?
Agility, learning, innovation and team effectiveness all start with psychological safety. The evidence shows that psychological safety is the foundation of team and organisational performance. Psychological Safety supports and promotes generative dialogue and healthy group dynamics, which are critical in building an effective team culture.
Both psychological safety and accountability are required for teams to operate at a high level that is sustainable for both individuals and the organisation.
In a psychologically safe workplace, people are not concerned by interpersonal fear. They feel they can be candid and share their ideas, even when there is a chance they might be wrong or address a sensitive topic.
It is a climate where people are comfortable being themselves and expressing their views. They share their mistakes and concerns without the fear of retribution or being embarrassed by them. They ask questions when they are unsure about something. They are unafraid of being humiliated by their leader or coworkers; they know they will not be blamed, humiliated, or dismissed for sharing their views.
A psychologically safe workplace reports and deals with mistakes quickly. It also course-corrects, innovates, and operates effectively in a complex and changing environment.
- Supports a learning organisation
- Enables productive challenge
- Promotes contribution, adaptation and engagement
- Reduces avoidable mistakes
- Reduces psychosocial hazards
- Drives innovation and intelligent failures
- Reduces ‘impression management’
Ready to boost learning, innovation and team effectiveness?
Learn how PeopleTalking’s psychological safety programs can help your organisation achieve sustained team and organisational performance.