Everything depends on it…
/And over the past two years it has taken a massive beating.
It’s Psychological Safety.
Unlike physical safety which can be more readily seen, measured and mitigated - Psychological Safety is more about how safe something feels. As a young outdoors instructor I often saw people deeply concerned about the safety of abseiling down a 50 metre cliff, and yet quite happy to jump in a raft to shoot some rapids.
If you are using properly rigged and rated gear, the abseil is very low risk. It becomes quite a predictable environment from a physical safety point of view. But we are born with a hard wired fear of falling from height. That’s smart design isn’t it - especially given the consequences! The barriers are almost all psychological and it feels very unsafe and exposed. Rapids on the other hand can be way riskier. And yet it seems easier for most of us to trust the boat and jump in.
In the workplace Psychological Safety impacts many elements contributing to bottom line:
Dealing with conflict
Contributing innovative ideas
Spotting and correcting physical safety issues
Giving and receiving useful feedback
Developing new skills
Pointing out potential flaws in a product or plan
Taking responsibility/accountability for results
Giving honest estimates of time required for projects
Open conversations about budgets, strategy, tactics and opportunities
If people don’t feel safe to do these things and more without experiencing negative kickback, they are likely to find any reason not to do them. What you say, or what the official policy is doesn’t make much difference to this. It’s all about feel.
How would you rate the Psychological Safety of your workplace, especially after the assaults of the last 2 years? If you’d like a practical 20 point checklist to measure and improve it, send me a message and I’d be happy to send you one.