How can you create a psychologically safe environment for creative team collaboration?

As a leadership consultant and performance coach, i LOVE that psych-safety has become a normalized concept; in my work with HR departments across North America, we are seeing the shift away from a silo'd approach to employee health, well-being, and benefits, to be more encompassing a more holistic approach that includes mental health and psychological safety. Leaders and teams who get sustainable, repeatable results know the importance of identifying blindspots to get out of their way, and foster an environment that allows their people to get out of a mental fear state, choosing curiosity and exploration vs ego and the need to be right. This is a top-down cultural shift to lead with integrity and compassion.

"No me avienten nada, pero voy a decir algo que puede parecer una gran burrada." Esa es la frase clave que tenemos en la agencia para darnos permiso e poner en la mesa algo que suena loco pero intuimos que hay "algo". Muchas veces esa frase es seguida por una idea que contiene el nugget que puede convertirse en wowness si le "encontramos la vuelta" entre personas que se respetan, se valoran y se tienen la confianza de ser intelectualmente honestos y vulnerables. Esos son los momentos cuando nos volvemos a enamorar de nuestro trabajo.

Psychological safety in the workplace is crucial for fostering a culture where employees feel comfortable expressing themselves without fear of judgment. It creates an environment where individuals are empowered to take risks, share ideas, and collaborate openly. When employees feel psychologically safe, they are more likely to contribute their unique perspectives, leading to increased innovation, productivity, and overall well-being. It requires leadership that encourages open communication, values diverse viewpoints, and addresses any instances of disrespect or discrimination promptly and effectively.

Psychological safety is the belief that one can speak up and take risks in a group without being punished or embarrassed. It's not about avoiding conflict but rather fostering an environment where team members can express themselves authentically and constructively. This concept, coined by Harvard professor Amy Edmondson, is essential for learning, innovation, and overall team performance, as it encourages diverse perspectives, experimentation, and learning from mistakes.

É essencial criar um ambiente psicologicamente seguro. Isso inclui encorajar a expressão autêntica, fomentar a resolução de problemas em equipe e estimular a inovação. Além disso, é importante construir relações de confiança, promover a colaboração entre os setores e fornecer feedback construtivo. A inteligência emocional tem um papel crucial nesse tipo de cenário, pois é necessário que os líderes promovam a segurança psicológica necessária para que os membros da equipe se sintam valorizados e incentivados a contribuir de forma criativa, resultando em um ambiente de trabalho produtivo e harmonioso.

Leaders with EI as their superpower are purposeful in creating and protecting the “safe space” for the team that is instrumental in driving better results and outcomes. There are three critical areas I would focus as this EI leader. EI Leaders nurture team self-awareness. Understanding their emotions, triggers, and biases equips them to manage their reactions effectively. EI Leaders lead by example, modeling self-awareness, self-regulation and empathy to demonstrate the authenticity and vulnerability, which encourages open communication and trust. EI leaders are great communicators that encourage transparent dialogue, where individuals feel empowered to express their thoughts, ideas, and concerns without fear of judgment or reprisal.

In a psychologically safe environment, team members are free to express their points of view without fear of punishment, retribution or ridicule. The term was promoted by Harvard Business School professor Amy Edmondson. The benefits of psychological safety are numerous: it fosters innovation and risk-taking, among others. An emotionally intelligent leader will create a safe environment for their team, being aware that their words and behavior significantly impact the team's mood. Therefore, the leader will practice self-awareness and self-regulation of their emotions. Their body language will convey calmness, and they will clearly express that they favor a psychologically safe environment, and more importantly, will prove it through actions

EI is pivotal when is comes to feeling mentally safe amongst a group of people. If we lack confidence in ourselves, every question or critique made towards us will feel like a personal attack. Hence, building ones confidence immensely helps in building EI which is the bane of psychological safety.

Emotional Intelligence (EI) enhances team collaboration by fostering psychological safety. It involves self-awareness and self-regulation to manage personal emotions, empathy to understand others, and effective communication for clarity and respect. EI builds trust and rapport, encouraging open sharing and innovation. It also aids in conflict management by valuing different perspectives for win-win solutions. By applying EI, leaders create an environment where team members feel valued and empowered, driving creativity and organizational success. Our role is to guide the integration of EI into team dynamics, promoting a culture of inclusivity and mutual respect.

Emotional intelligence plays a vital role in promoting psychological safety in the workplace by enabling individuals to understand and manage their own emotions effectively, empathize with others' perspectives, and navigate interpersonal interactions with sensitivity and respect. Leaders can foster a supportive environment where employees feel valued, heard, and encouraged to share their thoughts and concerns without fear of negative repercussions. By recognizing and responding to emotional cues, fostering trust, and promoting open dialogue, emotionally intelligent people contribute to a culture of psychological safety where everyone can thrive and collaborate authentically.

Create a Culture of Trust: Foster openness, empathy, and mutual respect, encouraging honest communication and acceptance of differing opinions. Conduct Organizational Climate Surveys: Carry out regular surveys to assess the perceived levels of trust, comfort, and respect among team members, ensuring their voices are heard and considered. Monitor Group Dynamics: Be attentive to signs of tension, conflict avoidance, or lack of participation, as they may indicate a lack of psychological safety, and take proactive measures to address these issues.

Fostering a growth mindset in the organisation is key for a good collaboration and success. No one should be afraid to make mistakes, because growth can only happen if you learn without fear.

To assess your team's psychological safety, combine surveys, interviews, observations, and reflective questions focusing on comfort in expressing ideas, feeling valued, and learning from failures. Analyze responses to identify patterns of psychological safety and areas for improvement. Develop action plans addressing gaps, such as communication and leadership training. Regularly monitor progress and maintain open dialogue about psychological safety. This multi-faceted approach helps foster a culture where team members feel safe to innovate and collaborate, guiding your team towards enhanced openness and resilience.

To assess your teams psychological safety it is important to observe participation levels, encourage open dialogue, watch for signs of fear or avoidance, review team dynamics, and consider external perspectives.

You can use expensive resources and state of the art assessment tools...OR you can simply have conversations and ask the right questions. You learn a lot when you observe, and when you use active listening to understand the unspoken and what's beneath the surface.

One of the most crucial elements to improving your team’s psychological safety is to lead by example. Team members will not feel the space to be psychologically safe if the environment created for them isn’t role modelling this from the top down. Improving the team’s psychological safety also includes exploring what potential barriers are currently in the way of the environment otherwise feeling safe. This might involve reflecting on policies etc and having potentially difficult conversations in a continuous manner to ensure that true psychological safety is maintained- not just spoken about. Important things to explore in order to improve team psychological safety include: - fair & diverse representation - institutionalised ableism

Eu acredito que a vulnerabilidade sadia, começando pela gestão e pelas pessoas de referência da área, é um bom caminho para a construção da segurança psicológica. Quando a equipe percebe que a autenticidade é validada pela liderança, não apenas no discurso, mas na prática do dia a dia, cria-se uma ponte para conexão e, consequentemente, segurança para arriscar.

Improving psychological safety through EQ involves fostering an environment where team members feel comfortable expressing themselves, taking risks, and being vulnerable without the fear of judgment or reprisal. Effective strategies include... conflict navigation and resolution, effective communication, self-awareness, empathy, and authenticity.

To improve your creative team's psychological safety, lead by example and be the one to champion a healthy and safe team environment. It all starts somewhere, right? 1. Demonstrate openness, vulnerability, and receptiveness to diverse perspectives to encourage your team to do the same. 2. Foster trust among team members through transparency, integrity, and reliability, and encourage a culture that embraces experimentation and innovation by celebrating both successes and failures that become lessons to be learnt. 3. Provide supportive and constructive feedback, address conflicts through open dialogue and mediation, and do not condone personal attacks or unprofessional behaviour.

Promote Openness and Empathy: Foster a culture where all members feel heard and respected, encouraging the free expression of ideas and feelings without fear of personal criticism. Foster Trust and Mutual Support: Encourage collaboration and recognition of the value of each contribution, creating an environment where members feel safe to take risks and share their perspectives. Facilitate Constructive Feedback: Establish open communication channels and promote a culture of transparent and constructive feedback, helping the team to grow and develop continuously and healthily.

Measuring a teams psychological safety is essential to understand the effectiveness of efforts to create a supportive and open environment. While psychological safety is a subjective aspect, several methods and tools can provide insights into a team's dynamics. Here are a few ways to measure psychological safety... Engagement surveys (Gallup Q12), feedback loops, open discussions, and leadership assessments (360 degree feedback). Other elements to consider are a team's level of trust, mutual respect, as well as overall employee engagement and retention.

Foster Trust and Respect: Promote a culture of mutual respect, where team members feel valued and confident to express ideas without fear of criticism or judgment. Establish Clear Norms: Set clear expectations for behavior and communication, encouraging openness, active listening, and collaborative solution-building. Constructive Feedback and Encouragement: Provide constructive feedback and encouragement to foster an environment where team members feel safe to share their perspectives, ideas, and concerns.

To measure your team's psychological safety, use surveys for direct feedback on comfort and openness, conduct interviews for deeper insights, observe interactions for engagement and conflict resolution, and track indicators like idea generation and learning from failures. Monitoring these aspects reveals the effectiveness of psychological safety efforts, showing areas of success and need for adjustment. This ongoing evaluation, rooted in emotional intelligence, ensures a dynamic, innovative team environment. Continuous effort and adaptation are key to enhancing psychological safety, unlocking creativity, and driving team success.

Measuring psychological safety focus on the following: Clear goals: Have you clearly defined your team’s goals? Have you communicated these goals clearly to your team? Support and open conversations: Ask from the team you lead: Are you offering support to your team and its individuals? Are there open conversations within your team, even during moments of conflict? This is crucial because people should feel comfortable expressing disagreement. I’ve noticed that this is particularly challenging. Even if there’s safety around, people tend to be afraid during well-managed conflicts due to their personal level of trust. Inclusion: Are you ensuring everyone is included? Can all team members say they are heard and equally involved?

And remember: Being vulnerable doesn't weaken your leadership, it strengthens it and you earn the respect and trust of your team, building the psychologically safe environment needed for it to flourish.

Don't try to force it in group setting. Often and from my experience, the creativity process is triggered during the brain storming sessions but the actual juice and golden nuggets flow when people are being lazy: in the shower, sleeping or not thinking about it. If you force people to be creative, this may create stress and actually cause the opposite. Also, people are mostly multitasking even if it is not conducive for creativity. They are thinking about their competing responsibilities, their workload and their stress levels. So creativity on demand may be quite challenging!