Mental health. Wellbeing. Inclusion. Belonging.
These aren’t just buzzwords you’ve heard constantly over the past two years; they’re real issues that every leader should be prioritizing, learning about, and acting upon. They also have something else in common: they affect an individual’s degree of feeling psychologically safe.
You might be thinking, “what exactly is psychological safety?”
Psychological safety, as defined by Timothy R. Clark, author of The 4 Stages of Psychological Safety: Defining the Path to Inclusion and Innovation, is “an environment of rewarded vulnerability in which human beings feel (1) included, (2) safe to learn, (3) safe to contribute, and (4) safe to challenge the status quo- all without fear of being embarrassed, marginalized, or punished in some way.”
Recent independent studies by United Minds, McKinsey and Accenture tell the same story: psychological safety is foundational to successful organizations today. For example, in United Minds’ research, we discovered that at least six of the top-10 factors people associate with getting a “fair deal” from their employer in a work environment that remains volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous have to do with feelings of psychological safety. These are highlighted below:
1. Job security
2. Positive work environment
3. Trustworthy peers
4. Competitive salary and benefits
5. Resources to be successful
6. Un-biased ability to succeed
7. Support for wellbeing
8. Fair treatment
9. Motivational, supportive leaders
10. Work/life balance
Furthermore, these studies also point to the fact that creating a psychologically safe environment starts with leaders role modeling the behaviors they want to see.
But is it just about displaying these behaviors, or do leaders need to feel them, too?
In short, no and yes. Amy Edmondson, universally recognized as the subject matter expert on psychological safety (having coined the phrase in the 90s) and Richard Boyatzis, a pioneer in the field of emotionally intelligent leadership, urge executives to become aware of and address their own needs, first so that they can focus on leading empathetically in an increasingly stressful landscape. Boyatzis noted that “we can’t be positively infectious with others…unless we’re feeling inspired and sustained ourselves first,” to which Edmondson adds, “As a leader, if you’re not role-modeling sustainable behaviors- taking care of yourself, getting enough sleep, taking necessary breaks- then you make it very hard for others to do the same.”
It’s important to note that authenticity is crucial here; merely saying the ‘right’ things in front of your employees is not enough. Recognizing that vulnerability and empathy are not natural for all leaders to exhibit in the work environment, this is an area where some leaders may need to train themselves to not only demonstrate these behaviors, but to embody them.
So…what? Should you start taking mental health days, shutting down at a decent hour, and have more vulnerable, human, conversations at work?
Honestly? Yes! That is, if you want your business to be successful, anyway.
Many of the studies previously cited show that psychological safety is not just good for business, it’s essential. Organizations with high psychological safety experience a significant reduction in turnover, increase in engagement, productivity and innovation, as well as higher skills preparedness and probability that workers will apply their newly learned skills on the job.
These changes don’t take place overnight, and they are near-impossible to do with leaders who feel burnt out, overworked, and undervalued. A high-performing culture starts in a psychologically safe environment. A psychologically safe environment begins with leaders who are genuinely supportive, motivating, and transparent. And to be a leader who supports the mental health and professional growth of others, you must begin in a mentally and physically healthy space, yourself.
How can you tell if you feel psychologically safe at work?
From our broader United Minds benchmark of employee experience in today’s work environment, six key questions can be isolated to assess the psychological safety of an organization. Before turning the lens on your team, you can use these questions to assess yourself. Go through the questions below one at a time and consider how much you agree or disagree with each regarding how you feel about your organization; not just the team you lead, but the team of leaders you are peer to as well as in the organization at large. If you can answer the majority of these questions positively, then you feel a strong sense of psychological safety in your organization.
1. I feel safe to take appropriate risks to succeed.
2. My colleagues help me when I need it.
3. The people I work with are trustworthy.
4. All employees’ opinions are valued.
5. I feel accepted for who I am.
6. I am able to participate and express my point of view.
Again, psychological safety is a foundational requirement for the success of any organization, and it starts with leaders. Those leaders cannot create a psychologically safe environment if they don’t feel safe, themselves. If you identify that you do not feel such in your organization, it’s time to examine why that is, and take the steps necessary to get there; once there, assess the psychological safety of your organization, identify what areas you can affect as a leader, and start establishing more psychological safety for your team.
