Psychological safety seems to have become a buzz word in the workplace over the past few years. But what exactly is it, why is it important, and how do you go about getting it?

What is psychological safety?

The phrase was first coined by Harvard Behavioural Scientist, Amy Edmondson, who defined psychological safety as: "a climate in which people are comfortable expressing and being themselves…feeling comfortable sharing concerns and mistakes without fear of embarrassment or retribution." (Amy Edmondson: ‘the fearless organisation’ 2019)

Essentially, it’s someone’s perception of how well a workplace culture supports taking personal risks. It’s a culture where people aren’t made to feel belittled, intimidated, ignored or ridiculed due to things like asking a question, sharing a concern, admitting a mistake or having a new idea. Instead, psychologically safe cultures allow people to fully participate, share knowledge and ideas, learn from each other and risk speaking up if something isn’t right. Arguably, it’s the foundation of inclusion.

Why is psychological safety important in work cultures?

If you want to create a culture where people can perform at their best and where innovation can really thrive, psychological safety is essential. When people feel heard and valued, they take more ownership, come up with better ideas, make more effort, and make better decisions.

That’s not to say that psychologically safe cultures are a panacea to all work-related interpersonal issues. Of course, problems still occur, people still experience performance issues and occasionally people lose their jobs. But the positive outcomes of psychological safety are worth having; greater capacity for innovation, higher retention, engagement and productivity, as well as simply being better places to work.

So how do you go about creating a culture of psychological safety?

Amy Edmondson suggests that the best way to experience psychological safety is to try acting as if you already have it and see what happens. That could be an interesting experiment!

But if you want a more methodical approach, you could try Timothy R. Clark’s 4 stage model, outlined below.

Out of the four levels, the first two levels are seen as a given right for every individual, whereas the last two must be earned. Teams can work through the first two stages, identifying what can collectively be done to increase everyone's sense of psychological safety. Stages 3 and 4 will require more thought and consideration as to how they can be achieved and what parameters might be needed.

• Stage 1: Inclusion Safety

Everyone feels they belong in the team, they feel comfortable, valued and appreciated. There’s respect for each person, with sensitivity and appreciation shown for cultural differences.

• Stage 2: Learner Safety

This is a nurturing learning environment where it’s OK to ask questions, ask for help, experiment, make mistakes, learn from mistakes, ask for and give feedback to each other.

• Stage 3: Contributor Safety

Achieving contributor safety involves creating safe spaces of inquiry where problems can be debated, where people can fully participate and feel heard. If you’re a leader, this means listening first and speaking last.

When team members are consistently delivering results and creating value, they earn the right to meaningfully contribute and in return are granted more independence and autonomy.

• Stage 4: Challenger Safety

“In the process of innovation, learning is more important than knowing.” Organisations that empower people to challenge enjoy higher levels of innovation and creativity. But challenging the status quo is a privilege not granted to all; it’s conditional on having on a good performance track record and an ability to represent the organisation’s best interests.

Achieving this level takes time. It’s about creating cultures where people can be brave, where people are encouraged to challenge, raise an issue, disagree, look for risks and problems, learn and adapt.

(Source: Timothy R. Clark “The 4 Stages of Psychological Safety” 2020)

Is it worth it?

Creating a more psychologically safe culture will no doubt take time and effort. It’s not straightforward, it’s likely to be messy and at times, it might be downright inconvenient. But if you care about people and you care about results, the benefits will far outweigh the effort.

Who wouldn't want to work in an inclusive culture where everyone is valued, where diverse ideas can be shared, where people can be themselves and all voices can be heard?