144: Harvard Professor Amy Edmondson on Psychological Safety | Noticing When the Dog Doesn’t Bark but Should Have
Jun 17, 2024
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Amy Edmondson, a Harvard Business School professor and expert on psychological safety, shares fascinating insights into team dynamics and leadership. She reveals how better teamwork correlates with higher error reporting, challenging common perceptions. The discussion highlights the importance of addressing dissenting views, emphasizing that psychological safety isn't about comfort, but rather embracing the discomfort that comes with honesty. Through engaging analogies, Amy underscores the need for open communication to unlock hidden insights in teams.
Research revealed that better teamwork coincides with higher error reporting, emphasizing the importance of open communication for organizational learning.
Psychological safety is not about comfort but enduring discomfort to foster honesty, crucial for addressing challenges and driving innovation.
Deep dives
The Accidental Discovery of Psychological Safety
The concept of psychological safety emerged from an unexpected correlation found during research on medication errors in hospital teams. Initially, the research indicated that better teamwork was linked to higher error rates, which perplexed the researchers. However, the breakthrough came when it was recognized that effective teams reported more errors due to their willingness to communicate honestly, rather than actually making more mistakes. This realization highlighted the importance of an environment where team members feel safe to share their mistakes and contribute to learning without fear of retribution.
Challenging Misconceptions about Psychological Safety
Many people mistakenly equate psychological safety with comfort, but it actually involves being comfortable with discomfort. It fosters a culture where individuals can express their thoughts and report mistakes, crucial for organizational learning and improvement. The conversation highlights the significance of acknowledging that the uncomfortable discussions and challenging situations are essential for growth and innovation. This misconception can be especially misleading when prominent figures, such as Elon Musk, portray psychological safety in limiting terms, overlooking its true value in creating an open, honest workplace.
Encouraging Psychological Safety in Daily Life
To promote psychological safety, individuals should first acknowledge the challenges and uncertainties inherent in their environments. This awareness fosters the understanding that collaboration and open communication are essential for addressing issues and preventing avoidable mistakes. By calling attention to the interdependence of team members and the complexity of their shared tasks, people can create a culture where honesty and candor flourish. Emphasizing this reality helps cultivate the necessary conditions for psychological safety, empowering individuals to voice their thoughts and ideas.
Amy Edmondson is a Leadership and Management professor at Harvard Business School and is world-renowned for her pioneering work on psychological safety.
Amy has been recognized by the Thinkers50 global ranking of management thinkers since 2011, and in 2021 and 2023 Amy was ranked #1 in the world.
Amy is also the author of several books which have been translated into more than two dozen languages. Her most recent book, The right kind of Wrong was named the business book of the year by the Financial Times and Schroders.
Amy earned a BA in engineering and design, an MA in psychology, and a PhD in organizational behavior, all from Harvard University.
In this episode we discuss the following:
When Amy studied hospital teams, she found, to her dismay, that better teamwork was correlated with higher error rates. But then she had a key insight: better teams were more willing to report errors than worse teams.
Most people, most of the time, hold back dissenting views. And because we don’t know what we don’t hear, we have to go on a treasure hunt for people’s dissenting views if we want to hear them.
Psychological safety doesn’t mean being comfortable. Rather, it’s about a willingness to endure discomfort, giving people permission for candor, when we go on treasure hunts for dissenting views.
We believe we see reality, but we rarely stop to think whether what we think we see is actually true.