Psychological Safety : An Evidence Based Approach
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In this presentation we review 3 questions What is psychological safety? Why is psychological safety important for organisational change? How can we make psychological safety work in practice?
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Psychological Safety : An Evidence Based Approach
- 1. Jan 28, 2021 Presented by Alex Boulting Psychological Safety Building Organisational Change Capability Talks # 3
- 2. 2 Building Change Capability Talks
- 3. 3 Enhancing organisational change capability UNIQUENESS Drive to flourish DOING – External Perspective BELONGING– Drive to belong BEING – Internal Perspective
- 4. 4 Diagnosing Support COMPLEX SYSTEMS… CAN BE SIMPLIFIED
- 5. 5 Content
- 7. 7 Why is it important? 30 years of research with meta-analysis supports importance of psychological safety Underpins lots of other important factors in Organisational Change & Team Performance e.g., quality of relationships, fairness, support, autonomy etc Mediates lots of off effects e.g., learning, leadership Creates ‘feedback loops’ critical for complex systems to stabilise through allostasis Duty Of Care – giving employee’s voice which impacts on wellbeing Effective teams depends on context (trust, psychological safety, social cohesion) rather than composition
- 8. 8 Does psychological safety matter? PSYCHOLOGICAL SAFETY Diversity Climate – perceptions of diversity related practices Empowerment – power sharing with subordinates PREDICTORS OUTCOMES
- 9. 9 A great mediator – safety makes it happen! Learning Orientation Team learning takes place (Harvey, 2019) Leadership Style Innovation Pro-active Behaviour Constructive Voice Organizational Citizenship Behaviour, Occupational Safety Narrow Cross Functional Expertise Interdisciplinary Learning & Cooperation
- 10. Psychological safety & complex systems ENERGY & STABILITY Exchange of information is the same as energy exchange which is needed to fight entropy and uncertainty through information sharing and learning behaviour helping to synchronise ROBUSTNESS & RESILIENCE Safety Robustness at an organisational level and resilience at individual level because it helps create cohesion and supportive networks BAYESIAN UPDATING & ACTIVE INFERENCE Feedback helps to update our beliefs and behaviours – how we make sense of our world. Feedback given in a psychologically safe space is more likely to be taken on board. MEMORY & COLLECTIVE INTELLIGENCE Groups can adapt more effectively make better decisions using collective diverse intelligence SOCIAL FACILITATION Allows individuals to build social bonds with others which and people want to perform well so others will think well of them
- 11. 11 Duty of Care ISO 45003:2021 - Occupational health and safety management — Psychological health and safety at work — Guidelines for managing psychosocial risks “Psychosocial hazards relate to how work is organized, social factors at work and aspects of the work environment, equipment and hazardous tasks. Psychosocial hazards can be present in all organizations and sectors, and from all kinds of work tasks, equipment and employment arrangements.” “82% of those with a diagnosed mental health condition did not confide in workplace management” – Ipsos 2019
- 12. 12 Be skeptical of claims No reference to academic research just Google’s study Confuses trust with psychological safety “Without trust, a worker feels that if they say the wrong thing, it can derail their career” – that is psychological safety “To quantify psychological safety, Great Place to Work has been measuring “trust” through employee surveys for 30 years” – So it hasn’t been measuring psychological safety
- 13. WHAT… 13 What is psychological safety 2
- 14. 1960 1990 1996 2020’s 1965 1993 2014’s Psychological safety was associated with elements of social systems that created more or less nonthreatening, predictable, and consistent social situations in which to engage (Kahn 1990) MIT professors Edgar Schein and Warren Bennis (1965) part of the ‚unfreezing‘ process making employees feel secure in changing behaviours in response to organizational change within T-Groups helps people overcome their defensiveness, and makes them focus on collective goals and problem prevention rather than on self- protection (Schein, 1993) Background Safety Behavioural Change Overcoming Defensiveness Making Mistakes Meta Analysis New Psychological Contract? “helps to explain why employees share information and knowledge, speak up with suggestions for organizational improvements, and take initiative to develop new products and services” (Edmondson, 2014) physicians who experienced more psychological safety were more likely to accept corrective and positive performance feedback from peers, explanations of feedback, and suggestions for improvement (Scheepers, 2018) a feeling to stop the ego from feeling “traumatically overwhelmed” (Sandler 1960) Willingness to report errors in high performing units and suppression in authoritarian ones (Edmonson) Complex Social System Focus on individual conceptions Schein & Kahn Group-level construct - Edmondson
- 15. What is psychological Safety? ‘people are comfortable being themselves’ (Edmondson, 1999, p. 354) ‘‘feel able to show and employ one’s self without fear of negative consequences to self- image, status or career (Kahn, 1990, p. 708) Permission for candor (Edmondson) Minimizing interpersonal risk
- 16. 16 Fear of taking interpersonal risks When you’re not afraid to: Be Yourself Take Risks Make Mistakes Raise Problems Ask Questions Disagree Fear of being seen as: Ignorant Incompetent Negative Disruptive
- 17. 17 Psychological Trust V Psychological Safety TRUST, often defined as the willingness to be vulnerable to the actions of others (Mayer, 1995) – giving people the benefit of doubt PSYCHOLOGICAL SAFETY captures the extent to which a person believes that the other person will give him/her the benefit of the doubt when taking risks (Edmondson, 2004) Can we make ourselves vulnerable?
- 18. 18 Employee Engagement & Psychological Safety “seek to protect themselves from both isolation and engulfment by alternately pulling away from and moving toward their memberships.” Kahn 1990 “behaviors by which people bring in or leave out their personal selves during work role performances” Kahn 1990 Binds Uniqueness & Belonging
- 19. Employee Engagement A Work Motivation C Employee’s sense of belonging to the organisation Organisational Identification B Organisational Commitment Wietrak, E., Rousseau, D. and Barends, E. (2021) Work motivation, Organisational Identification & Organisational Commitment : an evidence review. Scientific summary. London: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. Goal Setting Feedback Person- Organisational Fit Organisational Prestige A+B+C Employee Engagement Recognition Rewards Meaning Empowerment Social Support Psychological Safety Task & Skill Variety Energy levels within the organisation. Employee emotional attachment to the organisation Employee energy to do work & attain a goal Role Clarity Leadership : Trust & Positive Relationships Organisational Justice
- 20. Differentiation Exclusion Assimilation Individual is not treated as an organisational insider in the work group, but their unique characteristics are seen as valuable and required for group/organisational success Individual is not treated as an organisational insider with unique value in the work group but there are other employees or groups who are insiders Individual is treated as an insider in the work group when the conform to the organisational/dominant culture norms and downplay uniqueness UNIQENESS – Drive to stand out BELONGING - Drive to fit in (Cohesion) Shore, Lynn & Randel, Amy & Chung, Beth & Dean, Michelle & Ehrhart, Karen & Singh, Gangaram. (2011). Inclusion and Diversity in Work Groups: A Review and Model for Future Research. Journal of Management. 37. 10.1177/0149206310385943. Inclusive cultures are those where uniqueness and belonging come together When an individual’s unique characteristics are accepted into a group it improves performance while creating a sense of belonging These feelings of psychological safety where people feel safe taking interpersonal risks are critical to building inclusive cultures (Separation) Inclusion Individual is treated as an insider and allowed/encouraged to retain uniqueness within the work group . Building an Inclusive Culture
- 21. Empowerment v Psychological Safety Competence One’s belief in one’s capability to successfully perform work activities (Bandura, 1989; Lawler, 1973). Empowerment One’s belief that one can influence strategic, administrative, or operational activities and outcomes in one’s work unit (Abramson, Seligman, & Teasdale, 1978; Ashforth, 1989) Meaning Alignment between the demands of one’s work role and one’s own beliefs, values, and standards (Hackman & Oldham, 1980). Self- Determination One’s sense of choice concerning the initiation or regulation of one’s actions (Deci, Connell, & Ryan, 1989). = Autonomy + Competence + Belonging Impact
- 22. 22 The Dark Side of Psychological Safety The term is meant to suggest neither a careless sense of permissiveness, nor an unrelentingly positive affect but, rather, a sense of confidence that the team will not embarrass, reject, or punish someone for speaking up. This confidence stems from mutual respect and trust among team members. (Edmonson 1999) ” ”
- 23. 23 Psychological Safety V Accountability Motivation & Accountability Psychological Safety high low high Apathy Zone Comfort Zone Anxiety Zone Learning Zone
- 24. Openness Extraversio n Neuroticism Conscientio usness Agreeableness Fantasy Aesthetics Feeling Action Ideas Values Trust Straight Forwardnes s Altuism Compliance Modesty Tender Mindedness Warmth Gregariousness Assertiveness Activity Excitement Seeking Positive Emotion Competence Order Dutifulness Achievement Striving Self-discipline Deliberation Depression Vulnerability to stress Anxiety Hostility Impulsiveness Self-consciousness Proactive personality + Emotional stability + Learning orientation = Psychological Safety Big Five Personality & Psychological Safety
- 25. HOW… How do I make PSYCHOLOGICAL SAFETY work in practice? 3
- 26. 26 An example…
- 27. 1 2 3 4 5 Meaning Job Design Purpose Accountability People feel safe to take risks & be vulnerable with one another People get things done on time and to required standards Clear roles plans & goals Work is personally important People think their work creates impact & change Psychological Safety Building Effective Teams
- 28. 28 Psychological safety in hybrid working 01 STE P Set the Scene To create shared ownership of problems. Clarify what is at stake and the needs of the work & importance to jointly own responsibility 02 STEP Lead the Way Lead with behaviours. Expose your vulnerability sharing your own stories being candid & humble. 03 STEP Take Baby Steps It takes time to build trust and people will open-up about different things at different times 04 STEP Share Positive Examples Examples of where there is increased transparency. Having fair processes helps here – why somethings are shared and others not 05 STEP Be A Watchdog Psychological safety can be slow to build but easily destroyed. So monitor people’s behaviour and whether it is allowing people to speak-up “savvy managers should not underestimate the extent of congruent communication and intentional intervention required for psychological safety to be consistently effective.”
- 29. 3 Steps for creating Psychological Safety 1. 2. 3.
- 30. 30 Layering & Phasing conversations Performance (Expert) Development (Novice) Relationship (All) • Honouring • Experimenting • Appreciating • Recognising • Empathy • Acceptance • Reframing • Sharing • Reflecting • Enquiry • Affirmation • Listening Psychological Safety
- 31. 31 Drivers of psychological safety Autocratic behaviour Inaccessibility Lack of vulnerability Solving problems alone Distinguishing between psychological safety, accountability, trust, empowerment Being accessible Inviting feedback and input Acknowledging fallibility
- 32. 32 Google’s Top Tips Show your team you’re engaged Let your team see you understand Avoid blame to build trust Be self- aware Nip negativity in the bud Include team in decision making Be open to feedback Champion your team
- 33. 33 Psychologically Safe Meetings Encourage everyone to contribute Listen to one another Review / repeat people’s points Avoid dominating or interrupting Be caring, curious and non-judgmental Share mistakes Co-create solutions
- 34. 34 How can I measure it? If I make a mistake in this job, it won't be held against me It is not difficult to ask others in this department for help My manager often encourages me to take on new tasks or to learn how to do things I have never done before If I was thinking about leaving this company to pursue a better job elsewhere, I would talk to my manager about it If I had a problem in this company, I could depend on my manager to be my advocate I raise a problem with my manager, they are always very interested in helping me find a solution
- 35. WHAT… 35 Will I see when I get PSYCHOLOGICAL SAFETY right? 4
- 36. Safety Learning Respect Above the line behaviours Below the line behaviours No feed- back Not asking for help Lack of ideas Cover up errors No owner -ship What will I see? •Talk about mistakes and see them as a learning opportunity •Take time to improve processes and ways of working •Raise concerns about plans/decisions •Challenge assumptions •Open discussion if mistakes happen •Support rather than criticism •Ask other team members for help •Safety in offering new ideas •Respect for individuality and difference •Welcoming of new ideas and give them time and attention •Easy to describe each other’s contributions
- 37. AND ... Thank you! from Alex Boulting Owner | ebbnflow +44 7562570000 alex@ebbnflow.co.u k www.ebbnflow.co.u k Stay tuned and check our newest videos on YouTube: