Psychological Safety in Coaching
Ideally, our journey through understanding psychological safety emphasises its individual nature, shaped by personal experiences and beliefs.
Psychological safety is an environment where individuals feel safe to express themselves, take risks, and share their ideas without the fear of criticism or ridicule.
Psychological Safety emerges as a powerful tool, empowering individuals to navigate their inner landscapes and thrive in organisational settings.
Over the weekend I was watching the movie, 'Darkest Hour - Winston Churchill' (2017), and this is the scene with two power players (a King and a Prime Minister) that brings the point home about Psychological Safety but from a different perspective:
The KING nods - he himself resented WINSTON - and he turns away briefly, in embarrassment.
WINSTON (continued speaking): "They want Halifax still. But why get rid of the organ grinder and replace him with the monkey?!"
GEORGE VI: "Lord Halifax is a close personal friend of mine!"
WINSTON: "I am unwanted. I’ve never been trusted since the Gallipoli campaign. Unwanted."
GEORGE VI: "Perhaps--it is because--you scare people."
WINSTON: "Who?!"
GEORGE VI: "You scare me."
WINSTON (scarily): "What?! What nonsense! What could be scary about me?"
GEORGE VI: "One never knows what is going to come out of your mouth next. Something that w-will flatter-- or wound."
WINSTON: "My emotions are unbridled."
Source: Darkest Hour Script – Scripts on Screen (scripts-onscreen.com)
Watch Film clip: The Campaign of Resistance Scene
GEORGE VI: "You warned us this day was coming. We failed to listen to you. Lift us up, Mr Churchill."
WINSTON: "On certain matters I have few people with whom I can talk frankly."
GEORGE VI: "Perhaps now we have each other?"
WINSTON: "I no longer scare you?"
GEORGE VI: "Only a little. I can cope."
WINSTON: "Yes you can. Your majesty."
[They remain sitting there, side by side on the boat-shaped bed, friends hereafter.]
What I came away with after watching these scenes is: "if they could create this 'Psychological Safety' why can't others?"
It’s imperative for organisations to prioritise tailored approaches to psychological safety through coaching partnerships. By investing in individual well-being, organisations foster environments where every voice is valued, driving innovation and success. Committing to creating cultures of psychological safety, where individuals feel empowered and supported to bring their authentic selves to work, ensuring a workplace where everyone can thrive.
Psychologically Safe Partnering That Encourages Discomfort
The goal of coaching isn’t to make someone feel good. The goal is to break through a person’s guise of knowing. Human beings are master rationalizers in an effort to protect themselves from feeling challenged and embarrassed. In his book ‘Who’s in Charge: Free Will and the Science of the Brain’, neuroscientist Michael Gazzaniga says we become stuck in our automatic thought-processing and fool ourselves into thinking we are acting consciously and in a state that is naturally through our own sense of will.
To assess what is possible and what is best to do next, coaches should first focus on expanding what people think they know instead of jumping to solve external problems. The success of awareness-focused coaching depends on the coach’s ability to quickly make others feel safe enough to partner in this exploration.
Awareness-focused coaches provoke critical thinking in ways humans don’t — and (as Daniel Kahneman points out in his book 'Thinking, Fast and Slow') often can’t — do on their own. When it’s done well, people doubt what they thought they knew, so they are open to expansive learning. Coaches help clients clear the fog in their brains to see a clear way forward.
Coaching people to expand their awareness is often uncomfortable. The reaction to bringing outdated beliefs and fear-based speculations to light will register somewhere between slight discomfort and an emotional out-pour. The truth can hurt, or at least surprise, them before it sets them free.
It can be a good sign when someone expresses emotions in coaching. When confronting rationalizations or seeing blind spots, for a moment, the brain does not know what to think. It is this moment of uncertainty that opens up the possibility of discovery. The brain then quickly restructures thoughts, creating a new awareness, and a clearer and broader understanding of the situation can emerge.
Giving Coachees a safe, judgment-free space to observe their thinking is critical to their progress. In other words, good coaching requires psychologically safe partnering.
The Power of Psychological Safety
For any conversation to yield successful results, people must feel safe enough to say what is on their minds. They must feel they won’t be judged for what they share. In coaching, the person must trust that the intention of the interaction is their development, not to say what’s expected.
The effectiveness of coaching, then, depends more on the quality of the coach’s presence than on their perfection of skills. The energy coaches create with their emotions has substance. The relational field between them and the person they are coaching is palpable and powerful.
When Coaches foster a caring and judgment-free presence, the need to protect and defend oneself is regulated down in both client and coach, creating optimal conditions for exploration and change. The Coach’s presence creates a neuro-physiological state of trust and safety. The Coachee feels seen, heard and valued, no matter how he or she shows up.
Mindfulness Enhances Coaching
Coaches will have judgments and think they know what is best for others, but they can maintain a coaching mindset by quickly noticing and detaching from their opinions and their urge to give advice so the discovery process can unfold. It’s important for them to manage their inner space to ensure that their external space is engaging and comfortable.
The practice of coaching presence has been compared to mindfulness, where we are aware of what is going on inside and outside of our mind and body. Being fully present while coaching requires coaches to develop the habits of noticing shifts in their feelings and thoughts and of being attentive to others. Developing mindfulness will help coaches notice when thoughts and physical sensations occur so that they can allow them to pass through them.
When coaching, they should notice their thoughts and reactions, breathe, and come back to being present to the person they are with. In this way, they choose to be curious instead of knowing what the person needs, patient instead of eager to find solutions and quiet instead of leaping to help.
Coaches don’t need to worry about their posture; their emotions establish psychological safety more than the placement of their arms, and the time they spend thinking about their arms, legs and posture is time that they are not present. If they sense disconnection, it’s important to make sure they still feel curious, care and respect for the human in front of them. That person wants the coach to be present, not perfect.
It’s also about each person feeling safe in their own skin, feeling confident enough to speak up even when it’s scary. And that’s where individual agency comes in. It’s about each of us deciding for ourselves whether we feel safe or not, based on our own beliefs, experiences, and how our brains are wired.
Psychological Safety for Self: A Foundation for Enhanced Performance
You see, despite the noble intentions behind organisational efforts to foster psychological safety, there’s a glaring oversight: the failure to address individual needs. Too often, companies rely on blanket strategies and one-size-fits-all solutions, assuming that what works for one person will work for everyone. But the reality is far more nuanced.
Consider this. Each individual brings a unique set of experiences, beliefs, and traumas to the table. What might make one person feel safe and supported could have the opposite effect on someone else. Yet, traditional approaches to psychological safety often overlook this diversity, leading to a mismatch between the intended outcome and the actual impact.
Furthermore, blanket approaches tend to overlook the complexities of individual experiences and traumas too. What may seem like a minor inconvenience to one person could trigger deep-seated anxieties or insecurities in another. By failing to acknowledge and address these individual nuances, organisations risk perpetuating environments where some individuals feel excluded or marginalised.
Instead, we recognise the profound impact that individual experiences and beliefs have on one’s sense of safety in the workplace. An approach that acknowledges the diverse needs and backgrounds of individuals. For one of the great privileges of coaching is being trusted by the client. Where an individual might share amongst many things, their inner most thoughts, concerns, hopes and goals.
Coaches working one-on-one within an organization can still help to cultivate a safe environment beyond their sessions.
I believe that creating a space of psychological safety is the most important part of the coach: client connection. I’ve found the most successful conversations are where the client enters a world that they may have previously closed off or been afraid to explore. It is an opportunity to meet themselves in a different space and time and this can only happen where trust exists.
I have a few techniques that help create such a space where are:
1) Using the Coaching Contract to indicate coach and client expectations.
2) Reminding the client that the Coach works within guidelines.
3) Clarity on accountability of where the coachee and the coach can share what does/not feel comfortable in the conversation.
4) Creating healthy boundaries.
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Psychological safety for both the coach and the client must be at the centre of the relationship. And if it isn’t right for either one of the parties, then the contract must come to an end.
So how do you establish trust? And what does it mean to have Psychological Safety in a coaching environment?
I often see this mentioned in passing, as though “build trust” or “establish rapport” are simple boxes to check off your coaching to-do list, but to achieve this, coaches need to ensure clients will experience a psychologically safe environment during their meetings. One way is to practice the four dimensions utilized in: attitude to risk and failure; open conversation; willingness to help; and inclusivity and diversity during coaching sessions.
Exploring Growth Mindset
This is a critical topic to explore as a coach. On an individual level, an exploration of the growth mindset is a great starting point. Expanding self-knowledge by discussing a person’s ‘Intrinsic Motivator’ can also be an opportunity to practice non-judgment, first with the client’s results and then by considering how they would respond to seeing their team members’ reports. Address the fear of failure head-on, spend time discussing what can be learned from previous failures, and address the negative assumptions that might hold someone back from taking action.
Frameworks like the WOOP model, can set coachees up to practice doing a pre-mortem: identifying potential obstacles and coming up with ideas to overcome them before they happen.
Considering the worst-case scenario and realizing that they will survive can inoculate people against the fear of failure, especially if they believe their team will not punish them for it.
Open Conversation
Most coaches will already be leveraging powerful questions and person-centred dialogue in their sessions, but it may take some time for coachees to be ready for more difficult conversations. Remember to ask permission before introducing a new tool, which helps build trust and ensure that clients maintain a voice in the process. And beginning the coaching engagement with a clear discussion of confidentiality, ethics, and a designed alliance can go a long way in managing expectations.
From there, it may be helpful to look at the environment with your coachee. How are sensitive topics usually handled with their manager or colleagues? If you are coaching someone in a leadership role, how frequently do people raise questions or concerns? How often are they asking questions rather than giving advice? If your client wants to be more intentional about inviting these types of conversations, books like ‘The Coaching Habit’ by Michael Bungay Stanier or ‘Dare to Lead’ by Brené Brown are good places to start.
Safe Enough to Grow?
Whether in a coaching session or at work, growth can feel risky, but cultivating a culture of Psychological Safety empowers the individual to increase their performance. Ultimately, for people to be willing to push through the challenging moments, they need to believe that they are safe to be themselves — especially when they are in the messy middle — and that, in the end, it will be worth the effort.
The Four Stages of Psychological Safety
In addition, we have a different viewpoint on psychological safety level. It is called The Four Stages of Psychological Safety.
Timothy R. Clark defined the four stages of psychological safety as: Inclusion Safety, Learner Safety, Contributor Safety, and Challenger Safety. Each stage represents a higher level of psychological safety and team performance, with the Challenger Safety stage being the most advanced and productive.
Stage 1: Inclusion Safety
Inclusion Safety is the foundation stage of psychological safety. It centres on fostering an environment where all individuals feel genuine belonging, acceptance, and respect. In this stage, everyone feels safe to be themselves, share their perspectives, and participate without fear of negative repercussions. Inclusion safety is not just about being physically present in the team; it’s about feeling valued and respected for who you are and what you bring to the team.
Inclusion Safety is not earned but owned. It’s every person’s non-negotiable right. To qualify for inclusion safety, a person must meet two criteria: to be human and harmless. If an individual satisfies both requirements, they qualify for inclusion. If they meet only one, they do not. So, if there is no threat of harm, a person should be included.
It’s important to remember that diversity is a fact, but inclusion is a choice. Many organizations have made progress in creating diverse workforces but often need to improve in fostering inclusion. They may talk about inclusion, but they need to put it into practice. Creating an inclusive environment is not difficult – it simply involves treating people respectfully and understanding their individuality.
Establishing Inclusion Safety creates a foundation for the other stages of psychological safety to develop. Individuals are more likely to feel safe learning, contributing, and challenging the status quo when they know they are accepted and respected for who they are.
Stage 2: Learner Safety
Learner Safety is the next step in building psychological safety. It focuses on creating an environment where individuals feel safe to learn, grow, and make mistakes without fear of embarrassment or punishment. In this stage, people are encouraged to take risks, experiment, and ask questions, knowing they will be supported in their learning journey.
Learner Safety is about creating a culture of continuous learning and improvement, where mistakes are seen as opportunities for growth and innovation. It’s about fostering a mindset of curiosity and a willingness to learn from each other.
Individuals are more likely to take risks and try new things when they know they will be supported in their learning process, even if they fail initially. This can lead to breakthroughs and new discoveries that would not have been possible otherwise, fostering personal growth and development.
Leaders can’t just demand learning in their workplace; they inspire it by actively creating a supportive and encouraging environment. They must take the first step, giving the employees not just permission but also encouragement to engage in the learning process fully. In return, the employees should engage in the learning process. Yes, the employees must take responsibility and do their part to learn how to ensure safety.
Stage 3: Contributor Safety
Contributor Safety builds upon the previous stages by creating an environment where individuals are not just safe but empowered to actively contribute their skills, knowledge, and ideas to the team’s goals. It involves cultivating a sense of ownership and empowerment, where everyone’s input is not just heard but also valued and respected.
An essential characteristic of this stage is that the individual gains autonomy, but in return, they become accountable for their performance. In the previous stage, they gained new knowledge and skills; now, it’s time to demonstrate reliability and deliver good results. The only way to get even more autonomy is with better performance.
When Contributor Safety is established, it creates a high-performing team where everyone is engaged and motivated to give their best. This can lead to increased productivity, innovation, and overall success.
Individuals are more likely to feel invested in the team’s goals when they know their contributions are valued and when they have a voice in decision-making.
Stage 4: Challenger Safety
Challenger Safety represents the highest level of psychological safety. It’s the stage where individuals feel safe challenging the status quo, expressing their honest opinions, and proposing new ideas without fear of punishment or negative consequences. This stage is a precondition for innovation, continuous improvement, and healthy debate within a team or organization. Individuals are encouraged to think critically, challenge assumptions, and push boundaries.
In this stage, a person gets permission to challenge the status quo in good faith. In other words, the person can be candid and blunt as far as they have good intentions and want to improve the current situation.
Timothy Clark advises leaders to give every team member the duty to disagree and then brace themselves to hear the truth, even if someone contradicts leadership.
Conclusion
These four stages are cumulative, meaning that employees must feel safe at each previous stage before progressing to the next. For example, employees need to feel included and respected before they will feel safe taking risks. And they need to feel safe taking risks before they will feel safe sharing their ideas and opinions.
Psychological safety isn’t just a nice-to-have; it’s a must-have for any team that wants to thrive in today’s competitive landscape. By investing in psychological safety, leaders are not just building a team; they’re building a culture of innovation and success.
This self-reflection and action can be the first step toward fostering a more productive and innovative team environment.
For when we foster psychological safety during a coaching session, we delve into the deeper layers of personal identity, purpose, and fulfilment, empowering individuals to align their professional aspirations with their core values and beliefs. By bridging the gap between personal and professional growth, it enables individuals to unlock their full potential and create lasting change in both their professional and personal lives.
In essence, the approach to psychological safety needs to transcends traditional boundaries, offering a holistic and personalised approach that empowers individuals to thrive in every aspect of their lives.
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REFERENCES:
Clark, T. R., (2020), The 4 Stages of Psychological Safety: Defining the Path to Inclusion and Innovation, [Book], published by Berrett-Koehler Publishers, ISBN: 978-1523087686
McCarten A., (2017), ‘Darkest Hour: Winston Churchill’, [Film], Universal Pictures, Darkest Hour Script – Scripts on Screen (scripts-onscreen.com)
Gazzaniga, M., (2011), Who's in Charge?, [Book], published by Ecco Press, ASIN: B00POF1GFY
Psychological Coach & OD (Beyond-Profit)
1moThank you for sharing such incredibly helpful and wise insights and ideas on psychological safety, Mavarine. Excellent!