Episode 46: Supporting team wellbeing with trust, psychological safety, and honest feedback
Nov 5, 2024
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Suzi McAlpine, an executive leadership coach and author, shares her insights on fostering psychological safety in the workplace. She discusses how trust and vulnerability can transform team dynamics and enhance well-being. Listeners will learn how to identify signs of low psychological safety and the importance of creating a feedback culture. Suzi also emphasizes the power of emotional openness in leadership, providing practical strategies for continuous feedback and nurturing an environment where everyone feels safe to share their ideas and concerns.
Establishing psychological safety in teams enhances engagement and decision-making by allowing members to express ideas without fear of negative repercussions.
Leaders play a vital role in fostering an environment of trust and vulnerability, transforming mistakes into learning opportunities and promoting open communication.
Deep dives
Creating a Culture of Psychological Safety
Psychological safety is defined as the shared belief within a team that it is safe to express ideas, concerns, and questions without fear of negative repercussions. This culture allows team members to feel comfortable being vulnerable and admitting mistakes, which is crucial for fostering engagement and motivation. High psychological safety leads to better decision-making, as team members contribute fully and share their insights freely, particularly during challenging times. Consequently, organizations that prioritize psychological safety can expect continuous improvement as employees feel empowered to learn from their errors rather than fearing embarrassment or blame.
Identifying Symptoms of Low Psychological Safety
Observing team dynamics can reveal signs of low psychological safety, such as a lack of open admissions of mistakes and hesitance to challenge ideas presented by leaders. Teams with low psychological safety often display caution and restraint, leading to limited participation in discussions and reliance on dominant voices. Members may also look to one another for non-verbal cues about the safety to speak, indicating a pervasive sense of unease. Recognizing these patterns is essential for leaders seeking to cultivate a more inclusive and communicative environment.
The Role of Leaders in Fostering Safety
Leaders play a crucial role in establishing psychological safety by modeling behaviors that encourage openness and trust within their teams. This involves setting clear norms for engagement, demonstrating vulnerability, and actively seeking and responding to feedback. Effective leaders create a climate where mistakes are perceived as learning opportunities rather than grounds for punishment, fostering an environment where team members feel free to express their concerns and ideas. By facilitating diverse perspectives in discussions and recognizing contributions, leaders can engage their teams more profoundly and collaboratively.
Measuring Psychological Safety and Its Impact
Measuring psychological safety can be achieved through engagement surveys that include relevant questions in order to gauge the underlying trust levels within teams. Indicators of low psychological safety might include high employee turnover and reduced team performance, which warrant further exploration. It is essential to respect what is being measured, not just what is expected, emphasizing the importance of both qualitative and quantitative assessments. By linking psychological safety to organizational performance metrics, leaders can advocate for its importance in enhancing overall effectiveness and employee well-being.
Imagine a workplace where giving feedback feels completely safe and normal - a place where you can share your ideas or concerns without worrying that things might go badly. Unfortunately, many of us hold back from speaking up because we’ve either felt dismissed before or experienced situations where it all went wrong. But what if we could change that?
In this episode, we’re diving into psychological safety with executive leadership coach and author Suzi McAlpine. She explains why it’s essential for team engagement and decision-making, and how to foster trust within your team to combat burnout and enhance wellbeing and performance.
We’ll also cover the telltale signs of low psychological safety, the role of vulnerability in leadership, and the simple shifts that can make feedback a natural part of your team’s culture. This one is great for people leaders!
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Get more: For episode chapters, transcript, highlights, and key takeaways, head to rowwellbeing.com/podcast