Let’s call it out: ‘psychological safety’ has become a buzz word amongst us People professionals over the last few years. But for good reason.

For organisations wanting a culture of high performance (that’s everyone, right?!), then prioritising how psychologically safe your teams feel is non-negotiable. It’s not fluffy, nice to have, or “woke BS” as I’ve heard it being called. Fostering psychological safety is proven to be the biggest differential in teams that perform averagely vs those who outperform their peers, both academically, in case studies and neurobiologically.  

The good news is that almost all (89%) business leaders describe building a safe workplace as essential (McKinsey), yet a little under half (47%) of people describe their workplace as psychologically safe and healthy (Ipsos). 

Clearly, there’s work to be done.

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What is Psychological Safety?

Psychological safety is the belief that you will not be punished or humiliated for speaking up with ideas, questions, concerns, or mistakes.

When we feel we can ask the ‘stupid’ question (it’s never stupid!), put our hand up and admit our mistakes or share feedback candidly knowing we won’t be embarrassed or told off we’re experiencing an environment that’s psychologically safe. 

On the flip side, when we refrain from being honest with our thoughts or feelings, hold back on giving feedback or mask our emotions because we’re worried we might be shut down or face some kind of negative consequence - that’s us experiencing a lack of psychological safety.

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“A shared belief held by members of a team that it’s OK to take risks, to express their ideas and concerns, to speak up with questions, and to admit mistakes — all without fear of negative consequences.” - Dr Amy Edmondson, Professor of Leadership and Management at Harvard Business School

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The Benefits of Psychological Safety

We’re fairly sure we’re preaching to the choir here, but just in case you needed a little nudge, here’s how fostering psychological safety will help your team and organisation:

• Innovate quicker
• Unlock benefits of diversity
• Adapt better to change 
• Improved decision making 
• Greater cross-team collaboration (bye, siloed working!)
• Improved trust, resilience and engagement
• Accelerated organisational performance

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Signs of Low Psychological Safety

It’s important to notice some of the signs you may see, hear or observe in your team that may indicate that someone doesn’t feel psychologically safe. We say may because we’re primarily looking for shifts in someone’s typical behaviour. 

Some typical signs include:

• Change in behaviour (this is often the biggest warning sign)
• Change/dip in performance
• Less contribution in meetings less (or not at all)
• Not giving feedback or regularly responding along the lines of “it’s great!” to avoid an uncomfortable situation
• Avoiding key meetings
• Increased absence

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Measuring Team Psychological Safety 

Measuring psychological safety should first happen at a team, rather than organisational level. Dr. Amy Edmondson's Psychological Safety Index (PSI) is the most well-known tool to help you understand the level of psychological safety within teams. 

The scale includes seven statements, each measured on a 7-point scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree). The items are designed to capture various aspects of psychological safety, including the ability to speak up, make mistakes, and take risks without fear of negative consequences.

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The statements include:

1. If you make a mistake on this team, it is often held against you (whether team members feel they can make mistakes without being judged or punished)

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2. Members of this team are able to bring up problems and tough issues (gauges the ease with which the team can discuss challenging topics)

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3. People on this team sometimes reject others for being different (whether diversity and differences are accepted within the team)

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4. It is safe to take a risk on this team (measures the perceived safety of taking risks within the team environment)

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5. It is difficult to ask other members of this team for help (how comfortable team members are asking each other for help)

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6.  No one on this team would deliberately act in a way that undermines my efforts (gauges the level of mutual support and absence of undermining behaviours)

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7. Working with members of this team, my unique skills and talents are valued and utilised (whether team members feel their individual contributions are appreciated)

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People should be able to respond to these statements anonymously. Who responds in which way is largely irrelevant because this isn’t a finger pointing exercise, plus asking people to respond without anonymity would, ironically, undermine the team’s psychological safety. And yes, we've seen a CEO do this in the room before which just proves that there's still such a low understanding of what psychological safety means.

Scores for each statement should be aggregated to provide an overall measure of psychological safety. As you’d expect, higher scores indicate a higher level of psychological safety.

You can run this survey independently or you can engage the team at the Fearless Organisation to run this for you; they also offer a handy benchmark so you can see how your team sits against other organisations. 

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Debriefing a Psychological Safety Index (PSI) 

Your survey will give you a bunch of quantitative results, but it’s what you do with those results that creates the magic. Use the data to open up honest, safe and non-judgemental conversations about what people’s reactions are to their team’s PSI.

There’s one major ground rule you need your team to commit to during a debrief - no one can ask anyone how they responded. Sure, people can share if they choose to but no one should feel pressured to (and that includes asking them!)

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Here’s our top five tips for a successful debrief:

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1. ‘Contract’ around behaviours: Take 5-10 minutes at the start to set the scene for the session. Ask people what behaviours everyone needs to demonstrate for people to feel like they can share openly and honestly. Capture these behaviours and hold people to account for them.

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2. Allow 2 hours for your team debrief: this gives approx 5-10 minutes of reflection and discussion per statement, plus plenty of time to get the team into some breakouts to discuss specific statements (e.g. if a score is particularly low) and action that can be taken to improve it.

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3. Use an external facilitator: this doesn’t have to be external to the organisation (although preferable), but someone who is independent to the team and can hold a safe, non-judgemental and curious space. A coach would be perfect for this. 

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4. Brief your managers: most PSI results show a breadth of scores, with some higher than others. Let your managers know this is normal. Whilst scores are reflective of the environment the manager creates, as do the contributions of each team member. Encourage managers to be open minded, avoid being defensive and to take on board feedback from the team. It can be helpful to let managers see feedback in advance and give them a safe space to reflect independently afterwards. 

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5. Capture any actions and follow up: We recommend booking in a follow up a month later to review how actions are progressing and consider repeating the PSI exercise 6-12 months down the line. 

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We hope you’ve found this blog helpful. If you’d like more advice on how to foster psychological safety in your organisation or want to give your leaders the tools and confidence to master this, drop us a line at hello@wearecoachable.com

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