The challenges of creating a psychologically safe space
Creating a psychologically safe space is important for your organisation because it creates an environment where your employees can perform at their very best. A psychologically safe place means a space where you can confidently and comfortably be yourself, share new ideas, voice any concerns, ask questions or discuss mistakes, without any fear of punishment or humiliation. Having a safe space is the glue that pulls everything together – while policies and procedures certainly matter and potential talent may initially be attracted to a big salary and nice perks, if your employees don’t feel psychologically safe, your culture, engagement and productivity will still suffer.
But creating a safe space isn’t always as straight forward as we imagine it to be. For example, despite ongoing efforts to stamp out bullying and harassment in the workplace, research has shown that employees often still fear the consequences of reporting worrying behaviours such as workplace bullying. Whether this is due to the fear of negative consequences to career opportunities, appearing weak to colleagues, or being negatively labelled, it signifies your employees don’t feel safe. As explained by Timothy R Clark, the author of ‘The Four Stages of Psychological Safety’;
“Fear breaks the feedback loop. This is why a fear-based organization is no match for an empowered organization.”
As humans we spend such a significant portion of our in the workplace and interacting with our peers. If you’re constantly feeling pressure to act a certain way or dull down aspects of who you are or how you’re feeling, it’s hard to feel engaged or perform at your best.
So how can we create a space where everyone is able to thrive?
Leadership Need to Drive Change
The first challenge of creating a safe space is exactly what you’d expect – leadership role modelling. The creation of a psychologically safe space is a conscious effort that’s required by leaders, who often set the tone for an organisation. Leaders can start by building a habit of demonstrating authenticity and vulnerability. This will signal that it’s ok not to have the answer and that the team’s opinion and feedback is cared for and wanted. This can look like seeking help on problems they can’t solve themselves or asking for new ideas or feedback. If leaders in the organisation aren’t used to interacting this way, it can be a different way of working and require deliberate and conscious thought. The more we interact in this way, the more it becomes habitual and part of the fabric of the company culture. This also means these positive behaviours won’t be damped by inevitable workplace pressures, such as looming deadlines or high workloads.
Build a Foundation of Trust and Empathy
Creating a safe space also requires a foundation of mutual trust and empathy to build upon. This often means making the deliberate effort to engage with your peers and get to know them on a human level. This can be through simple questions, such as ‘how are you?’ or ‘how can I help?’ to show your care and interest in others. Not only does this build relationships, but it also helps you connect on a human level with your peers. Teams can practice empathy by being an attentive listener, asking questions and recognising and acknowledge feelings.
Virtual Walls
The shift to hybrid working since the pandemic has also created additional challenges for creating a safe space at work. Our shared, face-to-face interactions have lessened, risking employee isolating and forcing us to change how we build connections, in a new digital space rather than over a coffee. Team and company meetings are now often held over video, also hindering our ability to pick up on non-verbal cues such as a nod of agreement from a colleague. This inhibited ability to gauge the room and magnified capability to hide behind the virtual camera can cause individuals shy away from sharing new ideas or raising concerns. To remove the barriers of the new hybrid ways of working, we need to take even more conscious steps to build connection and show vulnerability and openness.
Healthy Conflict Isn’t Easy – It Takes Practice
It’s ingrained into us to maintain an equilibrium and avoid conflict in the workplace - just think about how uncomfortable it can be to give negative or constructive feedback, even when requested. Creating a psychologically safe environment doesn’t just require us to be open to all forms of feedback, but also to engage in conflict in a positive and healthy way. This means asking questions in a respectful way that challenges the idea without making the individual feel attacked. When we can bring new ideas or point out potential challenges is when innovative thinking and creative problem solving take off.
Creating a safe space is an important step in ensuring your team has a warm and welcoming environment. A psychologically safe space ensures your team can challenge each other in a positive way, share new ideas, and seek and provide help when it’s needed - all key ingredients to a positive and thriving workplace.