Reject Fear
Psychological Safety Starts with You
"In organizations where psychological safety exists, people are empowered to experiment, innovate, and drive the future."
Google Discovers Psychological Safety
What is Psychological Safety ?
Psychological safety refers to a team environment where all individuals feel safe to take interpersonal risks without fear of negative consequences, such as judgment or retribution. This means team members and leaders can openly share ideas, ask questions, and admit mistakes without worrying about damaging their reputations or relationships. Harvard Professor, Amy Edmondson, one of the lead thinkers in Psychological Safety says “Psychological safety is not about being nice. It’s about being able to have honest conversations about how to improve.”
"Psychological safety is not about being nice. It’s about being able to have honest conversations about how to improve."
Psychological Safety Starts with You
As I’ve been talking with people about this concept, most people say something like “That sounds amazing! I wish my team leader would lead that way, but that just isn’t the reality where I work.” No matter what our position at work, we can all have a part in building Psychological Safety. We can all do a few simple things to make our teams a space for safe dialogue and learning, especially powerful listening and asking good questions. Before we can do any of those things, however, we need to deal with our own fears.
Reject Fear
When you find yourself responding in a fearful way, instead of passing the fear on, take a few minutes to calm down.
- Take a few deep breaths.
- Find a quiet place to reflect and ask yourself “What am I afraid of?”
- Release the fear.
- Ask yourself “What is one thing I can do to help this situation?”
Even a simple process like this can be a powerful step to refocus, enabling you to bring a calm, safe presence to your team.
Let's Start the dialogue
Over the next few weeks we’ll be introducing various ideas to help you bring Psychological Safety to your team, no matter what your position. Do you have a question about Psychological Safety or how you can apply it in your work or home? Leave a comment below or ask a question here that we will answer in future blog posts!
Ask Your Question
Jeff Staege is an American who lived in China for 23 years before moving to Istanbul, Turkey in 2022. He is an executive coach and trainer in Emotional Intelligence. He helped found Sofian International Consulting and is the co-author of the EQ Solutions curriculum.
Jeff is married to Rebecca Staege and has four high school age children. He loves learning languages, reading, teaching, running and rock climbing.
