{"id":899,"date":"2021-07-02T11:15:54","date_gmt":"2021-07-02T01:15:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.herrmann.com.au\/blog\/?p=899"},"modified":"2022-12-02T10:38:26","modified_gmt":"2022-12-01T23:38:26","slug":"how-to-build-psychological-safety-within-your-team","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/herrmann.com.au\/blog\/2021\/07\/how-to-build-psychological-safety-within-your-team\/","title":{"rendered":"How to build Psychological Safety within Your Team"},"content":{"rendered":"\n[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section” _builder_version=”3.22″ da_disable_devices=”off|off|off” global_colors_info=”{}” da_is_popup=”off” da_exit_intent=”off” da_has_close=”on” da_alt_close=”off” da_dark_close=”off” da_not_modal=”on” da_is_singular=”off” da_with_loader=”off” da_has_shadow=”on”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row” _builder_version=”3.25″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.25″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” _builder_version=”4.10.3″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″]

The highest-performing teams have one thing in common: psychological safety. But what exactly is it?<\/p>\n

According to Harvard Business School professor Amy Edmondson<\/a>, who coined the term:<\/p>\n

\u201cPsychological safety is a belief that one will not be punished or humiliated for speaking up with ideas, questions, concerns or mistakes.”<\/p>\n

The benefits of psychological safety are compelling. Take Google\u2019s two-year study<\/a> on team performance, which found it to be the top key dynamic that set successful teams apart from other teams.<\/p>\n

The world’s most successful companies rely on innovative ideas and breakthroughs to drive performance. Such ideas are brought about through psychological safety, which enables the risk-taking, creativity and freedom to bring them to market.<\/p>\n

So how can you increase psychological safety within your own team? Here\u2019s five ways to foster an environment where everyone feels comfortable to take risks and share their thoughts.<\/p>\n

1. Recognise and accept that everyone has different strengths<\/h2>\n

The first step in promoting psychological safety is recognising that everyone thinks differently – and that\u2019s okay. There are no right or wrong, better or worse ways of thinking, just different ways.<\/p>\n

The Herrmann Whole Brain\u00ae framework<\/a> recognises that all people think differently, and that these different thinking styles impact how we communicate, how we collaborate and how we work.<\/p>\n

As an example, an experimental thinker may be great at visualising and working toward the \u2018big picture\u2019, and as such, may be really good at strategic planning. However, they also tend to be less focused on the small details, and could get carried away without ensuring they\u2019re crossing their Ts and dotting their Is.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, practical thinkers are very detail-oriented and make for great project managers. However, they tend to be less experimental and may feel uncomfortable with tight deadlines or unexpected changes.<\/p>\n

If we can recognise and accept that we\u2019re not going to be great at everything, we can identify gaps in our skills, and work to fill these gaps by collaborating with thinkers that complement our thinking style and have strengths in the areas we may prefer less.<\/p>\n

2. Build trust<\/h2>\n

Understanding how you prefer to think is a good start, but voicing your opinions is easier said than done for many of us. It can be hard for employees to be open and honest, for fear they\u2019ll look incompetent or be penalised.<\/p>\n

To overcome this barrier it\u2019s important to build a culture of trust where employees feel safe to share their ideas. Building strong, genuine and honest relationships where employees feel valued, heard and acknowledged, gives them the confidence to speak up.<\/p>\n

Employees need to know that if they speak up, their ideas won\u2019t be immediately shot down. You can build trust in your team by:<\/p>\n