Dr. Amy Edmondson (who coined the term psychological safety), defines it as, "a belief that one will not be punished or humiliated for speaking up with ideas, questions, concerns or mistakes."
This is a critical factor for high-performing teams.
Teams with strong psychological safety are less afraid of the negative consequences that may result from:
<ul>
<li>Taking smart risks</li>
<li>Making mistakes</li>
<li>Sharing their opinions within their team</li>
<li>Being candid with one another.</li>
</ul>

Psychological safety in the workplace

<ul>
<li>Teams that feel empowered to share their perspectives with each other, especially when their opinions differ from the rest of the group.</li>
<li>These teams are more likely to take initiative and consider the full picture of each situation. This in turn enables the team to innovate and find effective solutions.</li>
<li>Psychological safety is also critical to a team's ability to give and receive candid, respectful feedback. </li>
<li>Google's research on characteristics of high-performing teams identified psychological safety as their top indicator of the performance of a team.</li>
</ul>

Why does psychological safety matter?

One way to measure psychological safety in your organization is through employee surveys. Consider asking questions that measure employees' perceptions of psychological safety both at work and within their team.
When reviewing your results, focus your data analysis at the team-level, rather than within the organization overall. While it's valuable to have an understanding of the level psychological safety throughout your organization, any action that you take to improve psychological safety will be most effective within teams.

How to measure psychological safety

<ul>
<li>Build self-awareness in your team (recognizing how you prefer to think and behave)</li>
<li>Demonstrate concern for team members as people.</li>
<li>Ask for questions, different viewpoints, and considerations that have not yet been voiced.</li>
<li>Provide multiple ways for employees to share their thoughts.</li>
<li>Show appreciation for ideas.</li>
<li>Encourage team members to use positive language to inspire honest conversations.</li>
<li>Be precise with information, expectations, and commitments.</li>
<li>Be clear about what changed and why and give your team members time to process the change.</li>
<li>Own up to mistakes and celebrate failures as learnings.</li>
</ul>

How to create psychological safety at work

<img src="https://www.quantumworkplace.com/hubfs/Marketing/Website/Blog/Author-Photos/Shana-Bosler.png" alt="Shana Bosler" width="114" height="114">Shana BoslerJune 3, 2021 | 
5 minute read
<img src="https://www.quantumworkplace.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Marketing/Website/Blog/Blog%20Images/group-therapy.jpg?width=450&amp;name=group-therapy.jpg" alt="Psychological Safety in the Workplace" width="450" srcset="https://www.quantumworkplace.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Marketing/Website/Blog/Blog%20Images/group-therapy.jpg?width=225&amp;name=group-therapy.jpg 225w, https://www.quantumworkplace.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Marketing/Website/Blog/Blog%20Images/group-therapy.jpg?width=450&amp;name=group-therapy.jpg 450w, https://www.quantumworkplace.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Marketing/Website/Blog/Blog%20Images/group-therapy.jpg?width=675&amp;name=group-therapy.jpg 675w, https://www.quantumworkplace.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Marketing/Website/Blog/Blog%20Images/group-therapy.jpg?width=900&amp;name=group-therapy.jpg 900w, https://www.quantumworkplace.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Marketing/Website/Blog/Blog%20Images/group-therapy.jpg?width=1125&amp;name=group-therapy.jpg 1125w, https://www.quantumworkplace.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Marketing/Website/Blog/Blog%20Images/group-therapy.jpg?width=1350&amp;name=group-therapy.jpg 1350w" height="300">As a leader, one of your top priorities is to help your team members succeed and feel engaged with their work. But if you don't create psychological safety at work, those ambitions will not be possible.In fact,&nbsp;data&nbsp;from&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gallup.com/workplace/236198/create-culture-psychological-safety.aspx" rel="noopener" dir="ltr">Gallup</a>&nbsp;reveals&nbsp;that&nbsp;just three in 10 U.S. workers strongly agree&nbsp;that&nbsp;their opinions seem to count&nbsp;at work. Further, one study revealed that by moving that ratio to <a href="http://news.gallup.com/reports/199961/state-american-workplace-report-2017.aspx?utm_source=link_wwwv9&amp;utm_campaign=item_236198&amp;utm_medium=copy" rel="noopener" dir="ltr">six in 10 employees</a>, organizations would realize a 27%&nbsp;reduction in turnover.In this article, we'll talk about what psychological safety is, why it matters, and strategies for creating it at work.<UL><LI>What is psychological safety</LI><LI>What does psychological safety matter</LI><LI>How to measure psychological safety</LI><LI>How to create psychological safety at work</LI></UL><h2>What is psychological safety?</h2>Dr. Amy Edmondson, the Harvard Business School professor who coined the term <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/2666999?origin=crossref&amp;seq=1" rel="noopener" dir="ltr">psychological safety</a>, defines it as, "a belief that one will not be punished or humiliated for speaking up with ideas, questions, concerns or mistakes."Edmondson pointed to psychological safety as a critical factor for high-performing teams. More recently, <a href="https://academy.nobl.io/google-high-performing-teams/" rel="noopener" dir="ltr">Google's research</a> on characteristics of high-performing teams identified psychological safety as their top indicator of the performance of a team.Teams with strong psychological safety are less afraid of the negative consequences that may result from:<UL><LI>Taking smart risks</LI><LI>Making mistakes</LI><LI>Sharing their opinions within their team</LI><LI>Being candid with one another</LI></UL><div>
Because of this, these teams are more likely to share their opinions when they differ from one another (e.g., avoid group think) and take initiative when it matters most. 
</div><h2>Why does psychological safety matter?</h2>Teams that feel empowered to share their perspectives with each other, especially when their opinions differ from the rest of the group, are able to more fully leverage the knowledge and talent that each member brings to the team. These teams are more likely to take initiative and consider the full picture of each situation. This in turn enables the team to innovate and find effective solutions.Psychological safety is also critical to a team's ability to give and receive candid, respectful feedback. If your organization is looking to <a href="https://www.quantumworkplace.com/future-of-work/10-tips-for-building-a-feedback-culture" rel="noopener" dir="ltr">build a stronger feedback culture</a>, take a look at employee perceptions of psychological safety as a starting point.<h3>Benefits of psychological safety</h3>When it comes to performance,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.quantumworkplace.com/future-of-work/how-your-managers-can-help-build-employee-trust-in-senior-leaders" rel="noopener" dir="ltr">creating a trusting environment</a>&nbsp;is&nbsp;essential.&nbsp;The Harvard Business Review has shared multiple studies that describe <a href="https://hbr.org/2021/04/what-psychological-safety-looks-like-in-a-hybrid-workplace" rel="noopener" dir="ltr">psychological safety</a>&nbsp;as an important factor in high-performing (and hybrid) teams, and&nbsp;the&nbsp;teams&nbsp;who are most effective at problem solving have been shown to share two common traits: <a href="https://hbr.org/2018/04/the-two-traits-of-the-best-problem-solving-teams" rel="noopener" dir="ltr">cognitive diversity and psychological safety</a>.Not only does psychological safety improve your team’s performance, it also <a href="https://www.quantumworkplace.com/future-of-work/how-to-improve-employee-engagement" rel="noopener" dir="ltr">enhances employee engagement</a>. When team members feel that their insights are appreciated they:<UL><LI>Feel like a respected part of their team</LI><LI>See the value of their work</LI><LI>Feel accepted for who they are and the unique strengths they bring</LI></UL><h3>The relationship between psychological safety and DE&amp;I</h3>Psychological safety is a key component of <a href="https://www.quantumworkplace.com/future-of-work/diversity-and-inclusion-best-practices" rel="noopener" dir="ltr">diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts</a>. Diverse opinions, experiences, and knowledge can be better leveraged if team members feel comfortable speaking up and are accustomed to considering alternate viewpoints. Highly inclusive teams are empowered to share their unique perspectives with each other and are better positioned to reap the benefits of having a diverse team.<h2>How to measure psychological safety</h2>One way to measure psychological safety in your organization is through employee surveys. However, traditional psychological safety assessments tend to focus solely on perceptions at the team level. Consider asking questions that measure employees' perceptions of psychological safety both at work and within their team.Leverage a <a href="https://www.quantumworkplace.com/pulse-templates" rel="noopener" dir="ltr">pulse survey template</a> to ask the right questions about whether team members feel that they can share their opinions, take risks, and make mistakes.When reviewing your results, focus your data analysis at the team-level, rather than within the organization overall. While it's valuable to have an understanding of the level psychological safety throughout your organization, any action that you take to improve psychological safety will be most effective within teams.<h2>How to create psychological safety at work</h2>Now that you know what it is, why it matters, and how to measure it—how do you transform your team environment and create psychological safety at work? Try using these nine strategies to create psychological safety at work.<h3>1. Promote self-awareness.</h3>To create psychological safety in the workplace, start by building self-awareness in your team. When you recognize how you prefer to think and behave, you can uncover biases that might be impacting your employees’ willingness to share their viewpoints.Self-awareness also empowers you to understand your typical responses to changes or challenges. With this knowledge, you can adjust your emotional responses and learn to react in a way that invites open discussion.There are multiple ways to begin building self-awareness, including using&nbsp;360°&nbsp;reviews&nbsp;and&nbsp;assessments like the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.emergenetics.com/" rel="noopener" dir="ltr">Emergenetics Profile</a>&nbsp;to better understand yourself and&nbsp;your team.<h3>2. Demonstrate concern for team members as people.</h3>You may or may not be naturally inclined to ask team members how they are doing. Still, by getting into the practice of checking in with your employees, you demonstrate your concern and interest in them as people. Taking this simple action can help team members feel more comfortable speaking up because they know you appreciate their whole selves – not just their work product.<h3>3. Actively solicit questions.</h3>As your team is arriving at a decision, pause your meeting to ask for questions, different viewpoints and considerations that have not yet been voiced. And, count to ten in your mind before moving on. Often, internal processors may need more time to formulate their thoughts before voicing them, so train yourself to pause and encourage input.<h3>4. Provide multiple ways for employees to share their thoughts.</h3>While some&nbsp;employees&nbsp;may be comfortable&nbsp;sharing their thoughts in a meeting, others may&nbsp;prefer to&nbsp;have more time to think through their responses. Encourage&nbsp;team members to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.quantumworkplace.com/future-of-work/how-to-ask-for-employee-feedback-and-actually-get-it" rel="noopener" dir="ltr">share&nbsp;feedback</a>&nbsp;via email&nbsp;or through&nbsp;online collaboration tools, like Slack or Microsoft Teams, in addition to in-person discussions.<h3>5. Show value and appreciation for ideas.</h3>If you truly want your employees to openly share their thoughts, you must establish an environment where they feel all ideas are welcome.&nbsp;As you brainstorm,&nbsp;suspend judgement. Remember, you do not need to act on&nbsp;every&nbsp;idea; however, thanking people for their contributions and&nbsp;showing&nbsp;appreciation for their&nbsp;insights will go a long way in establishing psychological safety.<h3>6. Promote positive dialogue and discussion.</h3>Encourage&nbsp;team members to use positive language&nbsp;to inspire honest conversations.&nbsp;Cognitive studies have&nbsp;shown that <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-athletes-way/201212/choosing-positive-words-improves-mindset-and-performance" rel="noopener" dir="ltr">affirmative language can actually motivate you to succeed</a>.&nbsp;Simple word changes like using “have not yet” in place of “can’t” or “opportunity” instead of “challenge” can&nbsp;help your team members employ a positive mindset that empowers them to speak up without fear.<h3>7. Be precise with information, expectations and commitments.</h3>To build psychological safety, your team members need to trust you and&nbsp;your&nbsp;word,&nbsp;so&nbsp;be&nbsp;mindful about the information you share as well as the expectations and commitments you set. Be accurate. Be realistic. And, be thoughtful.&nbsp;Setting clear expectations and adhering to your commitments will help&nbsp;employees&nbsp;trust you and be more open with you.<h3>8. Explain reasons for change.</h3>In the course of business, timelines will&nbsp;shift&nbsp;and your plans will need to adjust.&nbsp;Some of your team members will have an easy time&nbsp;transitioning&nbsp;while others may be thrown.&nbsp;When expectations&nbsp;change&nbsp;or new information is revealed,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.quantumworkplace.com/future-of-work/the-key-to-managing-change-in-the-workplace" rel="noopener" dir="ltr">be clear about what&nbsp;changed&nbsp;and why</a>&nbsp;and give your team members time to process the change.<h3>9. Own up to mistakes.</h3>Failure can be frightening, and as a leader, you can take the sting out of it for your employees by owning up to the mistakes you’ve made and celebrating failures as learnings. Regularly ask employees what they’ve done that didn’t work out as expected and what they learned from those experiences. Doing so will help team members recognize that they won’t be punished for mistakes and help them feel more comfortable taking risks and speaking up.As a leader, the tone you set for your team has the power to make or break your employees’ success and engagement. When you employ these nine strategies to build psychological safety, you will empower your employees to share their ideas, learnings and concerns, which will spark your team’s performance.Relationships are critical to the success, engagement, and psychological safety of individuals and teams at work. Download our ebook, <a href="https://www.quantumworkplace.com/relationships-at-work" rel="noopener" dir="ltr">The Relationship-Driven Workplace</a>, to learn how you can build (and measure) better relationships in your workplace.<img alt="The Relationship-Driven Workplace ebook" src="https://f.hubspotusercontent20.net/hubfs/99128/hub_generated/resized/4d0a69ea-a410-497c-ae27-46d6187e5db5.png" width="530" height="230">

When it comes to performance, a trusting environment is essential. Here are nine strategies to help you create psychological safety in the workplace.

Stashed ideas

June 3, 2021 | 5 minute read

As a leader, one of your top priorities is to help your team members succeed and feel engaged with their work. But if you don't create psychological safety at work, those ambitions will not be possible.

In fact ,  data  from  <a href="https://www.gallup.com/workplace/236198/create-culture-psychological-safety.aspx">Gallup </a>  reveals  that  just three in 10 U.S. workers strongly agree that their opinions seem to count at work . Further, one study revealed that by moving that ratio to <a href="http://news.gallup.com/reports/199961/state-american-workplace-report-2017.aspx?utm_source=link_wwwv9&utm_campaign=item_236198&utm_medium=copy">six in 10 employees </a>, organizations would realize a 27%  reduction in turnover.

In this article, we'll talk about what psychological safety is, why it matters, and strategies for creating it at work.

<ul><li>What is psychological safety </li><li>What does psychological safety matter </li><li>How to measure psychological safety </li><li>How to create psychological safety at work </li> </ul>

Dr. Amy Edmondson, the Harvard Business School professor who coined the term <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/2666999?origin=crossref&seq=1">psychological safety </a>, defines it as, "a belief that one will not be punished or humiliated for speaking up with ideas, questions, concerns or mistakes."

Edmondson pointed to psychological safety as a critical factor for high-performing teams. More recently, <a href="https://academy.nobl.io/google-high-performing-teams/">Google's research </a>on characteristics of high-performing teams identified psychological safety as their top indicator of the performance of a team.

Teams with strong psychological safety are less afraid of the negative consequences that may result from:

<ul><li>Taking smart risks </li><li>Making mistakes </li><li>Sharing their opinions within their team </li><li>Being candid with one another </li> </ul>

Teams that feel empowered to share their perspectives with each other, especially when their opinions differ from the rest of the group, are able to more fully leverage the knowledge and talent that each member brings to the team. These teams are more likely to take initiative and consider the full picture of each situation. This in turn enables the team to innovate and find effective solutions.

Psychological safety is also critical to a team's ability to give and receive candid, respectful feedback. If your organization is looking to <a href="https://www.quantumworkplace.com/future-of-work/10-tips-for-building-a-feedback-culture">build a stronger feedback culture </a>, take a look at employee perceptions of psychological safety as a starting point.

When it comes to performance,  <a href="https://www.quantumworkplace.com/future-of-work/how-your-managers-can-help-build-employee-trust-in-senior-leaders">creating a trusting environment </a> is  essential.  The Harvard Business Review has shared multiple studies that describe <a href="https://hbr.org/2021/04/what-psychological-safety-looks-like-in-a-hybrid-workplace">psychological safety </a>  a s a n important factor in high-performing (and hybrid) teams , a nd  the  teams  who are most effective at problem solving have been shown to share two common traits : <a href="https://hbr.org/2018/04/the-two-traits-of-the-best-problem-solving-teams">cognitive diversity and psychological safety </a>.

Not only does psychological safety improve your team’s performance, it also <a href="https://www.quantumworkplace.com/future-of-work/how-to-improve-employee-engagement">enhances employee engagement </a>. When team members feel that their insights are appreciated they:

<ul><li>Feel like a respected part of their team </li><li>See the value of their work </li><li>Feel accepted for who they are and the unique strengths they bring </li> </ul>

The relationship between psychological safety and DE&I

Psychological safety is a key component of <a href="https://www.quantumworkplace.com/future-of-work/diversity-and-inclusion-best-practices">diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts </a>. Diverse opinions, experiences, and knowledge can be better leveraged if team members feel comfortable speaking up and are accustomed to considering alternate viewpoints. Highly inclusive teams are empowered to share their unique perspectives with each other and are better positioned to reap the benefits of having a diverse team.

One way to measure psychological safety in your organization is through employee surveys. However, t raditional psychological safety assessments tend to focus solely on perceptions at the team level. Consider asking questions that measure employees' perceptions of psychological safety both at work and within their team.

Leverage a <a href="https://www.quantumworkplace.com/pulse-templates">pulse survey template </a>to ask the right questions about whether team members feel that they can share their opinions, take risks, and make mistakes.

When reviewing your results, focus your data analysis at the team-level, rather than within the organization overall. While it's valuable to have an understanding of the level psychological safety throughout your organization, any action that you take to improve psychological safety will be most effective within teams.

Now that you know what it is, why it matters, and how to measure it—how do you transform your team environment and create psychological safety at work? Try using these nine strategies to create psychological safety at work.

To create psychological safety in the workplace, start by building self-awareness in your team. When you recognize how you prefer to think and behave, you can uncover biases that might be impacting your employees’ willingness to share their viewpoints.

Self-awareness also empowers you to understand your typical responses to changes or challenges. With this knowledge, you can adjust your emotional responses and learn to react in a way that invites open discussion.

There are multiple ways to begin building self-awareness , including using   360 °  reviews  and  assessments like the  <a href="https://www.emergenetics.com/">Emergenetics Profile </a>  to better understand yourself and  your t eam .

2. Demonstrate concern for team members as people.

You may or may not be naturally inclined to ask team members how they are doing. Still, by getting into the practice of checking in with your employees, you demonstrate your concern and interest in them as people. Taking this simple action can help team members feel more comfortable speaking up because they know you appreciate their whole selves – not just their work product.

As your team is arriving at a decision, pause your meeting to ask for questions, different viewpoints and considerations that have not yet been voiced. And, count to ten in your mind before moving on. Often, internal processors may need more time to formulate their thoughts before voicing them, so train yourself to pause and encourage input.

4. Provide multiple ways for employees to share their thoughts.

While some  employees  may be comfortable  sharing their thoughts in a meeting, others may  prefer to  have more time to think through their responses . Encourage  team members to  <a href="https://www.quantumworkplace.com/future-of-work/how-to-ask-for-employee-feedback-and-actually-get-it">share  feedback </a> via email  or through  online collaboration tool s , like Slack or Microsoft Teams , in addition to in-person dis cussions .

5. Show value and appreciation for ideas.

If you truly want your employees to openly share their thoughts, you must establish an environment where they feel all ideas are welcome.  As you brainstorm,  suspend judgement. Remember, y ou do not need to act on  every  idea; however, thanking people for their contributions and  showing  appreciation for their  insights will go a long way in establishing psychological safety.

6. Promote positive dialogue and discussion.

Encourage  team members to use positive language  to inspire honest conversation s .  Cognitive studies have  shown that <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-athletes-way/201212/choosing-positive-words-improves-mindset-and-performance">affirmative language can actually motivate you to succeed </a>.  Simple word changes like using “have not yet” in place of “can’t” or “opportunity” instead of “challenge” can  help your team members employ a positive mindset that empowers them to speak up without fear.

7. Be precise with information, expectations and commitments.

To build psychological safety, your team members need to trust you and  your  word ,  so  be  mindful about the information you share as well as the expectations and commitments you set. Be accurate. Be realistic. And , be thoughtful.  Setting clear expectations and adhering to your commitments will help  employees   trust you and be more open with you .

In the course of business, timelines will  shift  and your plans will need to adjust.  Some of your team members will have an easy time  transitioning   while others may be thrown.  When expectations  change  or new information is revealed,  <a href="https://www.quantumworkplace.com/future-of-work/the-key-to-managing-change-in-the-workplace">be clear about what  changed  and why </a> and give your team members time to process the change.

Failure can be frightening, and as a leader, you can take the sting out of it for your employees by owning up to the mistakes you’ve made and celebrating failures as learnings. Regularly ask employees what they’ve done that didn’t work out as expected and what they learned from those experiences. Doing so will help team members recognize that they won’t be punished for mistakes and help them feel more comfortable taking risks and speaking up.

As a leader, the tone you set for your team has the power to make or break your employees’ success and engagement. When you employ these nine strategies to build psychological safety, you will empower your employees to share their ideas, learnings and concerns, which will spark your team’s performance.

Relationships are critical to the success, engagement, and psychological safety of individuals and teams at work. Download our ebook, <a href="https://www.quantumworkplace.com/relationships-at-work">The Relationship-Driven Workplace </a>, to learn how you can build (and measure) better relationships in your workplace.

Bite-sized knowledge
to upgrade
your career

Strategies to Create Psychological Safety at Work

Psychological safety in the workplace

Why does psychological safety matter?

How to measure psychological safety

How to create psychological safety at work

IDEAS ABOUT

MORE LIKE THIS

The 3 things that great teams have in common

5 Ways to Create a Psychologically Safer Workplace for Post Pandemic Employees

Psychological safety is critical for high-performing teams

It's time to

READ

LIKE

A PRO!

Bite-sized knowledgeto upgradeyour career

Strategies to Create Psychological Safety at Work

Psychological safety in the workplace

Why does psychological safety matter?

How to measure psychological safety

How to create psychological safety at work

IDEAS ABOUT

MORE LIKE THIS

The 3 things that great teams have in common

5 Ways to Create a Psychologically Safer Workplace for Post Pandemic Employees

Psychological safety is critical for high-performing teams

It's time to

READ

LIKE

A PRO!

Bite-sized knowledge
to upgrade
your career