{"id":1204,"date":"2023-08-01T10:41:05","date_gmt":"2023-08-01T10:41:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mo.work\/uncategorized\/the-key-to-high-performing-teams-psychological-safety\/"},"modified":"2025-04-08T14:25:39","modified_gmt":"2025-04-08T13:25:39","slug":"psychological-safety-high-performing-teams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mo.work\/insights\/psychological-safety-high-performing-teams\/","title":{"rendered":"The Key to High-Performing Teams: Psychological Safety"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

While it takes many important elements to build high-performing teams, there\u2019s one that is the cornerstone of them all and that\u2019s building psychological safety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This freedom to express opinions and offer feedback without the fear of reprisal is the single most essential thing to establish in your workplace if you want to build thriving, resilient and high-performing teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is Psychological Safety?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Psychological safety<\/u><\/a> describes a situation where a person feels calm and confident in their ability to express their opinions and feelings. It is a relatively new consideration when it comes to workplace safety, which has traditionally been more concerned with physical or mental wellbeing, but one that offers a huge amount of insight into building more resilient teams and individuals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The phrase \u2018team psychological safety\u2019 was coined by Amy C. Edmondson<\/u>, a professor at Harvard Business School who found a link between safety, learning behaviour and high-performing teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Establishing psychological safety isn\u2019t a question of avoiding all distressing situations and ensuring that no one talks about negative things. Instead, it is about building trust<\/u> around communication and expression by showing that all feedback is welcome and that there is no punishment for sharing an opinion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why is Psychological Safety Important for My Organisation?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re hoping to build high-performing teams and a flourishing organisation, then psychological safety is very important. It is an environment that encourages a lot of the behaviour that is associated with high-performing teams<\/u><\/a>: independence, honesty and reasonable risk-taking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Psychological safety can help improve the way teams interact and collaborate and can also help with employee engagement and retention, with Accenture reporting<\/u><\/a> that workplaces with high psychological safety enjoy 76% more engagement and 50% more productivity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How Can Leaders Create Psychological Safety?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There are plenty of things you can do to encourage an atmosphere of psychological safety in your organisation. Help your teams feel psychologically safe to perform to the highest of their abilities by:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Show Vulnerability<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

One of the best ways to create feelings of psychological safety at work is to lead by example \u2013 and that means allowing yourself to be vulnerable in front of your team. By opening up about your own hopes and fears, you develop psychological safety and you make space for others to do the same.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The CIPD found<\/u><\/a> that if you want to build psychological safety, it\u2019s important for teams to feel they can speak up or take action without being embarrassed, rejected or punished.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Empathetic leaders<\/u> who are curious, willing to ask questions and happy to share are well-placed to help their teams expand their scope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Demonstrate Empathy and Active Listening:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Show genuine concern for other team members\u2019 well-being and actively listen to their concerns and ideas. Empathy creates a supportive and understanding team environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Invest in Learning and Experimentation<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Set your high-performing team up for growth by making it easy for them to access employee development<\/u><\/a> opportunities. Whether through mentioning, coaching, formalised education or online courses, the ability to expand skill sets and improve talents not only helps improve psychological safety but also tends to accelerate alongside it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s also smart to allow space for practising those new skills and to experiment with new ideas. This encourages an innovative mindset and ensures there\u2019s space to play.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Make Room for Mistakes<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

If you want people to be able to grow and innovate, you need to make it clear that there is room for experimentation \u2013 and that they won\u2019t be reprimanded for making mistakes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mistakes happen; the important thing is how you come together to get over them. You may even be able to learn valuable lessons and you\u2019ll have more knowledge than you would in an environment where everyone feels as though they have to follow strict rules.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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5. Promote Collaboration Over Criticism<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

For a high-performing team that knows its power and potential, be sure to put plenty of work into creating real collaboration \u2013 especially when things go wrong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes, it\u2019s good fun to share in successes, but it\u2019s also very beneficial to avoid directing criticism at any one particular person or part of a team. Instead, invite collaboration on how you can all do better and make improvements for the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

6. Communicate on a Human Level<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Avoid creating distance or alienating your team with jargon or overly officious language and lean into communicating on a more human level. This means recognising the various personalities and preferences of your team members and treating each with respect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Communicating as a leader<\/u><\/a> means being able to inspire and reassure, especially if you want to be able to promote psychological safety and make space for improved performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

7. Publicly Recognise Change<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Show a team that their efforts are appreciated and that they will be rewarded, by making sure to recognise achievements and a willingness to change. This means celebrating behaviours as well as bottom lines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, you might want to take to an employee communication platform<\/u><\/a> to let everyone know how impressed you are by someone\u2019s willingness to learn or their ability to share their skills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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8. Encourage Open and Honest Feedback<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Effective feedback is a cornerstone of psychological safety. To create psychological safety and encourage open and honest feedback, consider implementing the following practices:<\/p>\n\n\n\n