How to Create a Psychologically Safe(r) Team Culture (Challenge #57)

So earlier this week I was on a coaching call with a potential new client. They’re a regular listener and have been following the Kind Leadership Guild for a while. As I do on my 30 minute free test drives (available to any of you listening to this episode by the way), we walked through their current leadership problem, tried to define an ideal outcome, and started identifying internal and external challenges that stand between the client and that outcome. It’s a great way to get to know each other, see if we might be a fit, and to be able to create some value for a client whether or not they proceed to a longer coaching arrangement. Anyway, as we were talking, the topic of Psychological Safety came up. It’s a theory that this person really resonates with, and I find it interesting as well. So after geeking out about it for a minute or two, my prospective client mentioned that many of their colleagues had either never heard of it, or didn’t really understand what actions they could take to create a psychologically safe team culture. And in that moment, I realized that if those colleagues were a bit confused about the whole psychological safety thing—some of you might be too. So let’s clear up some misconceptions and figure out how psychological safety can be used to heal a dysfunctional team culture.

Welcome to the Kind Leadership Challenge, the podcast that empowers principled educational and library leaders to heal their organizations! I’m Dr. Sarah Clark, founder of the Kind Leadership Guild, where I use my PhD in Higher ed leadership and nearly 2 decades of experience in academic libraries to coach leaders like you who want to build a better world without burning out. 

Kind Leaders aren’t perfect, and we don’t need to be. We strive to make tough decisions without becoming jerks. We design systems that enable our teams to make a big impact without overworking. And we know that once we stop controlling and start collaborating, even the most ambitious vision can become effortless. Kind Leadership is pretty simple, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy. So if you’re up for a challenge, stick around for the next 10 minutes as I teach you how your school or library can create a resilient, thriving legacy that will strengthen your community long after you’re gone.

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So, first things first—what IS psychological safety? I did a little digging, and discovered that this phrase was first popularized in a workplace context by Amy Edmondson, a professor at the Harvard Business school. Per Amy, Psychological safety is “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.” Check out the show notes for an article that goes into more detail, and even a link to a survey you can use to determine how psychologically safe your team is or isn’t. 

But even without taking that survey (much less questioning whether folks who felt unsafe at work would even answer a survey honestly), I think there are certain indicators you can look for in your team’s behavior to see how safe they are or aren’t feeling. Are staff meetings awkward recitations of agenda items to a silent room, or is there genuine conversation and debate? When there are disagreements between team members about a particular course of action, are they hashed out with a challenging conversation or two, or do things fester into grudges or passive aggression? Is bullying or other inappropriate behavior among team members addressed or ignored? How about when someone makes a mistake—how likely are they to try to hide or deny it rather than sharing the truth? You get the idea.   

So now that we’ve got a decent working definition and some aspects of psychological safety you can look for in your team, here’s the next question. What are the benefits and drawbacks of a psychologically safe culture? I think, like most things in life, the idea with psychological safety is not to swing from one extreme of culture to the other, to find a balance that allows everyone to feel comfortable contributing to their fullest potential, while also keeping in mind that the ultimate goal of fostering a safer culture is to create an organization which is able to collectively execute decisions that build a better world. After all, if you and your team are unable to channel your shared trust toward making unpleasant but necessary changes, then you are creating a situation that may seem psychologically safe, but with a result that can cause harm to those your team serves, or even to the organization itself.

For instance—giving space for a team member to share their concerns with a situation is an example of psychological safety done right. However, eventually the conversation needs to shift toward a solution or decision, or nothing will happen to address the problem, which means that whatever threat your team faces will remain.

In addition, although it is important for your team members to feel safe enough to admit mistakes or bring you bad news, your team can’t grow and improve without facing the consequences of their actions, whether it’s poor performance or inappropriate behavior. I’m not suggesting spite or punishment here. However, when a pattern emerges, retraining, or even a performance improvement plan or progressive discipline is necessary to keep the team as a whole safe and productive. 

Finally, all leaders must accept that psychological safety is in the eye of the beholder, and there are times team members will struggle with feeling unsafe for reasons that have absolutely nothing to do with you or your organization. As I’ve alluded in a few previous episodes, my first full time job out of college was not what you’d call psychologically safe, especially toward the end of that company’s death spiral. Long story short, I didn’t feel psychologically safe in ANY workplace between about 2002 and 2006, through no fault of the teams or leaders I worked with. It was a wound I had to work through and heal in my own time—but the supportive cultures I landed in during those times made my return to a newer, stronger sense of psychological safety possible.  

And that I think is the way kind leaders should think about cultivating psychological safety. Your goal as the steward of your team’s culture should not be to ensure people feel 100% safe 100% of the time. First off, other people’s feelings are out of our control. And second, as long as we live in a world where life can be unfair, broken, and just plain unkind, I think a deeper psychological safety is found in honestly facing the things that threaten your organization from inside and outside, so you can make the decisions that will empower your organization to thrive within that broken world and maybe even start healing it a little bit, in your own ways.

So here’s your challenge: I want you to honestly review the ways in which your team is psychologically safe or unsafe, and what you think needs to shift in the best interests of your organization. Then once you’ve done that, share your thoughts in the kind leadership challenge community, or if you’d feel more safe, send me an email or DM me on facebook or linkedin. I promise you’ll get an answer!

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Thanks as always for listening to the kind leadership challenge. Before you go, here’s a quick way you can spread the word of kind leadership. I’d like you to take a moment to think of a friend or colleague who might benefit from this week’s episode. Then, open your app or head over to kindleadershipchallenge.com/57 and share this episode with them right now—or as soon as you’re parked if you’re driving. Never doubt that day by day, you’re building a better world, even if you can't see it yet. So until next time, stay kind now.