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Psychological safety in a hybrid world
Teams with a climate of psychological safety work with the belief that a team member will not be punished or embarrassed for voicing ideas, questions or mistakes. Respect and trust are hallmarks of these teams, so each member feels valued and safe to contribute.
Psychological safety was identified as a core ingredient for creating effective teams by a Google study[1]. Over several years, the researchers sought out the perfect formula of individuals to make a high performing team, conducting hundreds of employee interviews and analysing the data of over one hundred active teams. Eventually, they concluded that psychological safety is the one thing the highest performing teams all share, enabling people to engage, connect, change, and learn[2].
However, as organisations transition to hybrid models of working, maintaining psychological safety is not a given. In fact, during periods of change people often feel under threat, suggesting that psychological safety may not immediately translate to this new context. Instead, it must be developed and nurtured for teams to maintain high performance. We’ve got some top tips to help you do just that.
Psychological safety was identified as a core ingredient for creating effective teams
How to develop psychological safety in a hybrid world
Provide clarity and stability
Psychological safety is a core component of keeping your teams’ wellbeing on balance. Without it, your team members risk responding to threats or interferences by going into ‘protection’ mode. This is because, as social beings, we are all continuously managing the impressions people have of us. This is especially the case in the workplace, where our livelihood depends on people thinking well of us!
This ‘protection’ mode can manifest in two ways: either people will appear submissive, passive, and disconnected, or they will appear dominant, aggressive, and arrogant. Both of these responses are symptoms of your team lacking psychological safety, which can negatively impact wellbeing and performance in the long-run.
Top tip for managers: To reduce the risk of your team going into ‘protection’ mode when faced with threats or interferences, use clear and honest communication. For example, in your next team meeting, ensure that each member is happy and confident with your chosen hybrid working protocols.
Rid failure of its taboo
To be able to have honest conversations like the one mentioned above, teams need to trust one another. Teams with a climate of psychological safety work with the belief that a team member will not be punished or embarrassed for voicing ideas, questions or mistakes[3]. Respect and trust are hallmarks of these teams and consequently, each individual feels valued and safe to contribute, take risks and lead when it seems fitting[4]. This builds the team’s confidence, and serves to improve the quality of their work.
Top tip for managers: Adapting to hybrid working may be a source of uncertainty for people, which can cause their confidence to waiver. To rebuild your team’s confidence and trust, rid failure of its taboo by encouraging your team to anticipate, accept, and adapt from failure. This will allow them to comfortably venture out of their comfort zone on projects whilst they adapt to hybrid working, safe in the knowledge that they can count on your support if they need it.
Create an environment of exploration
Once trust has been established, your team can have more honest and constructive conversations. This is because in psychologically safe environments, people are entirely accepting of one another. This can be great when working collaboratively on projects as the team feels comfortable challenging each other and equally, they’re open to being challenged back. This results in only the best projects being started, developed, and delivered.
Top tip for managers: To encourage exploration in your team, you should maintain continuous dialogue with the team on communal projects and regularly ask people for their input. Ensure everyone is heard by consciously engaging all team members in conversations, whether they are in the office or dialling in remotely. Also, make sure that no one person’s contributions are overly criticised (this is different from being respectfully challenged!).
Role model ethical behaviour
Psychological safety is a somewhat dual-edged sword; the very thing that helps us to perform to our best can also bring out our worst. Research has found that having high levels of psychological safety can sometimes lead teams to push the boundaries of ethical behaviour, thanks to their trust in each other not to rat each other out[1].
The contagion of unethical behaviour amongst psychologically safe teams can be controlled if team leaders draw their team’s attention back to desirable behaviours. For example, a research study found that a prompt as simple as reading out the 10 Commandments before taking a test significantly decreased cheating[5]. Although reading out the 10 Commandments would set a slightly odd tone in a meeting, leaders can prompt teams to reconnect with company values or their best practice team charter.
Top tip for managers: Role modelling ethical behaviour and including moral standards such as honesty in your teams’ values and habits can help promote ethical standards and minimise unethical behaviour. Establishing these kinds of behaviours is especially important as your team adapts to hybrid working, as you need to trust each team member implicitly to avoid micro-managing them.
Openly acknowledge the need for psychological safety in a hybrid world and intentionally nurture its development, by following the tips above. Clear communication, a trusting attitude, inclusive conversations, and role-modelling ethical leadership will help make your team’s transition to hybrid working a smooth one.
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[1] Fradera, A. (2016). Psychology can explain why wildly successful teams get tempted to the dark side. Quartz. Available online at: https://www.qz.com/820763/psychological-safety-is-crucial-for-great-teamwork-but-it-has-a-dark-side/.
[2] Wanless, S. (2016). ‘The Role of Psychological Safety in Human Development’. Research in Human Development, 13(6–14).
[3] Edmondson, A. (1999). Psychological safety and learning behavior in work teams. Administrative Science Quarterly, 44(2), 350-383.
[4] Erdem, F., Ozen J., & Atsan N. (2003). The relationship between trust and team performance. Work Study, 52(7), 337-340.
[5] Gino, F., et al. (2009). ‘The Effect of One Bad Apple on the Barrel’. Contagion and Differentiation in Unethical Behavior, 20(3), 393-398.
