Great Teams Are Psychologically Safe Teams

Have you ever led or been part of a team that had extraordinary talent but failed to work together effectively? The results for these teams rarely match the level of talent that has been assembled because the social aspects of a team are equally, if not more, important than the team’s talent or technical abilities. The highest performing teams invest in creating an environment where teammates feel safe to take risks because they are confident that no one on the team will embarrass or punish anyone else for admitting a mistake, asking a question, or offering a new idea.

In today’s world of rapid change and uncertainty, investing in your team’s psychological safety is critical for team success. Below are 5 Practices for building a team culture where members feel safe, included, and valued.

1. Valuing Team Member's Perspectives

One of the primary attributes of psychologically safe teams is that each team member has roughly the same amount of time speaking during team conversations—showing value for all perspectives. An inclusive team environment that invites equal voice and values all member’s perspectives isn’t created by happenstance or accident.

A 2017 Gallup poll found that only three in 10 employees strongly agree with the statement that their opinions count at work.

Below are best practices for how teams can effectively create opportunities for team members to have equal opportunity to share their ideas, experiences and perspectives.

• Establish an inclusive, simple and replicable process for when it is time for the team to work together to resolve issues and solve problems
• Clarify that the team is about to work through an issue and it requires everyone’s input
• Provide think time for everyone to document their perspectives prior to sharing

2. Establishing Clear Goals and Roles

Successful teams are united by a common purpose and complementary roles in achieving that purpose. Noel Tichy’s research on team effectiveness at General Electric found that more than 90% of team conflict is caused by unclear or misaligned goals and roles. Even though a vast majority of team conflict is because team members have unclear goals and roles, people will often form negative judgments by labeling others as unreasonable, ineffective, lazy, not caring, dishonest, or some other conclusion that can quickly erode team relationships. Taking the time to ensure clarity and alignment of goals and roles is a foundational component in building psychological safety within teams.

3. Addressing Bad Behaviors of Star Performers

Research shows that the more valuable an employee’s work is to the organization, the more leaders and co-workers are likely to overlook questionable behavior. I have coached leaders who are aware that an individual on their team exhibits bad behaviors and because the person is considered a “star performer" they are hesitant to address the issue. The problem is that leaders usually don’t clearly see the “hidden” damage that these negative behaviors are having on their team’s culture. The Harvard Business Review shares in its article, How Toxic Colleagues Erode Performance, the following research on the negative impact of tolerating toxic employees.

• 80% of employees stated they lost work time because of the offending employees’ rudeness
• 78% said their commitment to the organization declined
• 66% said their performance declined
• 63% lost work time in avoiding the offender

Leaders that don’t address bad behavior of high-performers clearly demonstrate that results are more important than their people, values and ethics.

4. Investing in Social Relationships

Focusing solely on tasks can work for short periods of time, but over a long haul these behaviors deteriorate a team’s social bonds. This is magnified by the fact that today more of our work and meetings have to completed virtually. This isolation is problematic, as a strong social support system is the most important factor in creating resilient and productive teams.

Teams must invest in building their social networks, especially during times of challenge, change, and high demands. Below are some ideas for how teams can establish strong relationships.

• Celebrate wins 
• Share gratitude and appreciation
• Time for fun and laughter

5. Asking Quality Questions

In today’s constantly changing work environment teams have to leverage each team member’s expertise, perspectives, and insights to succeed when facing complex challenges. Teams that are skilled at asking quality questions gain the following benefits:

• Shifting the conversation from a “me” perspective to a “we” perspective
• Staying in learning mode rather than judgment mode
• Creating a setting where team members feel included, valued, respected, and safe 

The best teams understand the importance of asking questions for developing new insights, innovations, and approaches. Psychological safety is created when team members demonstrate care and respect for one another’s feelings and value all members’ perspectives. An environment where team members feel psychologically safe is a key component of effective teams.

What is your team doing to create an environment of trust and inclusion?

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Tony Gambill is the founder and principal for ClearView Leadership, an innovative leadership and talent development consulting firm based in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Tony brings more than 20 years of executive experience in leadership development, coaching, and team effectiveness within global for-profit, non-profit, technical, research, healthcare, government and higher educational industries.