{"id":10485,"date":"2022-05-23T15:52:00","date_gmt":"2022-05-23T15:52:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vibekebaunsgaard.com\/?p=10485"},"modified":"2024-04-19T08:53:29","modified_gmt":"2024-04-19T08:53:29","slug":"what-is-psychological-safety-and-how-to-create-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vibekebaunsgaard.com\/da\/ledelse\/what-is-psychological-safety-and-how-to-create-it\/","title":{"rendered":"What is Psychological Safety and How to Create it?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The highest performing teams experience psychological safety.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s that simple!<\/p>\n

Do\u00a0you want your team to flourish\u00a0and perform at it\u2019s best? Then create a fearless organization, says Harvard Professor Amy Edmondson. By fearless organization, she means one that provides psychological safety.<\/p>\n

What is the Definition of\u00a0Psychological Safety?<\/h2>\n

What is\u00a0psychological safety<\/em>?<\/p>\n

Psychological safety is about being able to act and engage in a team without fear of negative consequences.<\/p>\n

Amy Edmondson, who is a\u00a0frontrunner researcher of psychological safety, defines it this way\u00a0(1999: 350):<\/p>\n

\u2018A SHARED BELIEF HELD BY MEMBERS OF A TEAM THAT THE TEAM IS SAFE FOR INTERPERSONAL RISK-TAKING\u2019 .<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Psychological safety is thus\u00a0about the assurance that no team member will be\u00a0humiliated, laughed at or punished for posing questions, speaking up with ideas, concerns, or mistakes. With William Kahn, it is about \u2018daring to engage oneself without fear of negative consequences concerning neither one\u2019s self-image, status or career\u2019 (Kahn 1990:708)<\/p>\n

Creating psychological safety is about giving candid feedback, openly admitting mistakes, and learning from one another, says Edmonson in a podcast for Harvard Business Review.<\/p>\n

Team Psychological safety<\/em> is thus\u00a0about a shared belief that the team is safe for interpersonal risk-taking.<\/p>\n

Originally, when conducting\u00a0her research, Edmonson expected\u00a0cohesive teams\u00a0to make fewer\u00a0mistakes than other teams, yet \u2013\u00a0to her\u00a0surprise \u2013 her\u00a0research showed that\u00a0cohesive teams make as many mistakes as any other team. This may strike us as\u00a0\u2018counter-intuitive \u2013 that is, the opposite of what one would expect.<\/p>\n

What she then realized is the following: the better team is the one that dares to talk about mistakes \u2013 it\u00a0shares experiences across\u00a0team-mates so all learn from each other\u2019s experiences. Trust is, therefore, a major contributor to the creation of psychological safety.<\/p>\n

THE BETTER TEAM IS THE ONE THAT DARES TO TALK ABOUT MISTAKES AND SHARE EXPERIENCE FOR OTHERS TO LEARN FROM<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Clearly, failing to facilitate\u00a0an environment of psychological safety is\u00a0a costly business for any organization. The reality of such a\u00a0situation is that when you are heading for an unsuccessful project, organizational change process or any other disaster \u2013 employees keep their heads down in fear of repercussions and none\u00a0dares to speak up.<\/p>\n

While some\u00a0may initiate a quiet\u00a0whisper, a Gallup research report tells us that in the U.S., for example, only three in ten employees feel certain that their opinions count (Gallup 2017).<\/p>\n

_____<\/p>\n

\"Vibeke-Vad-Baunsgaard-VVB_\"INTERESSERET I FOREDRAG<\/a>, KURSER\/WORKSHOPS <\/a>\u00a0ELLER R\u00c5DGIVNING<\/a>\u00a0OM PSYKOLOGISK TRYGHED ELLER ANDET – <\/strong>S\u00c5 KONTAKT MIG, VIBEKE VAD BAUNSGAARD, PHD – P\u00c5 MAIL: vibeke@vibekebaunsgaard.com<\/a>\u00a0ELLER RING TIL MIG DIREKTE P\u00c5 5059 5013.<\/strong><\/p>\n

JEG SER FREM TIL AT H\u00d8RE FRA DIG.<\/strong><\/p>\n

_____<\/p>\n

Summing up the above, we need psychological safety to ensure high-performing teams resulting in creative input, innovative ideas, and engaged\u00a0employees.<\/span><\/p>\n

The problem is that our brain simply does not like the idea of \u2018sticking our neck out\u2019 where a semi-toxic boss<\/a> or a competitive co-worker may turn\u00a0down our ideas before we are done expressing them. It puts us in a fight-or-flight mode. So to protect ourselves from retribution and fear of failure, well\u2026we stay silent and become disengaged.<\/p>\n

Google Research of What Makes a Good Team<\/h2>\n

Google did a huge study to see what differentiated great teams from not-so-great teams. Listen to Professor Edmondson explain in her own words what Google\u2019s research revealed, why it surprised her, and what she learned from it.<\/p>\n