Psychological safety is something that is getting a lot of attention in the business world lately. It’s also one of the main themes of our Best-Self Management methodology. That’s why we’re devoting this episode to telling you what psychological safety means to us and how you can make it an integral part of how you structure your work environment.

Today we explain the various components of psychological safety and how they fit into the workplace. It all hinges on making sure your people feel both respected and accepted. Removing the fear of making mistakes is such an important part of this and we talk about how supporting risk-taking is part of our company’s ethos.

There are several practical ways to build psychological safety inside your organization. We share what has worked for us at 15Five and how you can do it too. It involves building a supportive culture at work, having open and honest communication between managers and employees, and having high degrees of vulnerable trust at the leadership level.

What does psychological safety look like at your company? Leave a comment below!

• The origins of the term psychological safety and its role in the workplace
• The elements that need to be in place before someone can feel psychologically safe
• The negative consequences that arise when your people do not feel supported and heard
• Practical ways to foster a culture of psychological safety inside your company
• The role of that a manager has in creating a high level of psychological safety with their team

“Somebody can’t tell you that you’re psychologically safe. That is an actual subjective experience that we as individuals need to be having before we’re actually having physiological safety.” [3:00]

“Mistakes can happen and sometimes it’s just a lack of information or context. Those are opportunities to improve the business.”[12:32]

“We all come to the table with an entire human story and lifetime of experience. When we get to share that story and experience and be seen, recognized, celebrated, and honored for that, that’s when the critter-brain relaxes enough that we can actually drop into a much deeper place of safety.” [19:32]

“The path to becoming our best self is one where we are embracing our fullness - everything in our lives - and using that as the material for transformation and aspiring to something higher.” [25:40]

“You as manager need to lead. The level that your people are going to be open, forthright, and transparent with you is directly correlated to the level you are leading with your own vulnerability and transparency.” [36:43]

Listen to Best-Self Management Here

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The Gottman Institute 

Brene Brown Netflix Special

Amy Edmondson Ted Talk on Psych Safety