Psychological safety on teams

“My son is really struggling today with virtual school,” I shared openly, as I showed up for a recent team stand-up. “He is having a hard time not being able to see his friends and teachers in person. It’s an up and down roller coaster here.” 

I showed up to this Zoom call depleted. And I couldn’t hide what was happening from my team, nor did I want to. The pandemic was taking a toll on my family, and I couldn’t continue to pretend that everything was fine behind the screen. Because it wasn’t. 

Today, psychological safety on teams is one of the hottest topics at work. So how do we define it? As a leader, I believe psychological safety exists when all the members of my team feel they can speak up. They can voice their struggles, their concerns, their points of view, without fear of being judged, rejected, embarrassed, punished, or in some cases, humiliated.

A lack of psychological safety on teams can have serious consequences for an organization. It can lead to lack of productivity, lack of access to innovative ideas, and ultimately lead to low morale and people walking out the door. During this Great Resignation, it’s important now more than ever that leaders instill psychological safety within their teams to ensure their team members feel valued, seen, and heard.

Here are three ways I am working on instilling psychological safety in my team:

1. Start by modeling vulnerability

I am open with my team about my daily challenges. As a mother of two young kids, this pandemic hasn’t been easy. I struggle some mornings to get out of bed and stay motivated. If I can share what I am struggling with, it opens up the opportunity for my team to share with me what they are struggling with. Leaders must model vulnerability if they expect the same in return from their team.

Leaders must also be vulnerable when they have made mistakes, when they don’t know how to solve the problem, and when they feel like the initiative they led didn’t have the outcome they wanted. By modeling this, it can help build trust in team relationships, and commitment and loyalty to each other. You will be more likely to give your best to the team and the company.

2. Allow space for sharing

If you are asking someone “how are you,” ensure you have built-in enough time and space to let them tell you how they are really doing. Some 1:1 conversations with team members don’t have to be about task lists and project updates. They can be reserved to check in with each other. In a remote world, many of us don’t know what’s really going on behind the screen and in people’s homes.

In team meetings, make sure everyone has a chance to share and speak up. When someone has a contradictory opinion or something you don’t like, or you think won’t work, don’t shut it down. One of the hardest parts of leadership is hearing things you don’t like or don’t agree with. Allow the space for people to express differing views and propose alternative solutions. By allowing everyone to participate, you will likely build a stronger, better solution in the end.

3. Honor and respect team member’s points of view and confidentiality

If someone on your team has shared with you something in confidence, do not gossip to others about what they shared — or hold it against them at a later point in time  This will break trust immediately. I once confided in a former manager that I was having a tough time securing reliable nanny and daycare options for my kids. “When I later applied for a promotion, he said he was concerned about putting me in the role because worrying about my kids and who was watching them might be too distracting from work.” I made sure to never share anything personal or anything I was struggling with again with that former manager. The damage had been done, the trust had been broken.

Honor and respect what your team members are sharing and saying. You might not agree with everything they say. As long as it’s not hurtful and harmful to others, our job as leaders is to role model the ability to respectfully disagree with each other and still enjoy working together. Don’t forget that your job as a leader is to get the best performance out of your team. By creating safe spaces for all to share and feel like they are heard, you will be able to grow and retain your talent. During this Great Resignation, the ability to instill psychological safety on teams might be the greatest retention tool of all.