Improving teamwork: Psychological safety (1/2)
What is the secret of successful teams?
Google spent two years answering this question in Project Aristotle , which examined which factors characterize the most effective teams. Surprisingly, it is not the bundled intelligence of team members or the longest work experience. A little true story helps to uncover the secret:
In 2011, a plane crashed and 12 people died - because the most critical factor for a successful team was missing. The co-pilot of the First Air Flight 6560 expressed concerns about the landing of the aircraft to the captain. In turn, the captain did not address these concerns, and the co-pilot abandoned the issue. The plane crashed a few minutes later.
Here this question arises: How could the crash have been prevented, if the co-pilot had dared to stand by his opinion? This example shows how important the role of psychological safety in the workplace can be for improved teamwork. In fact, in their study, Google also recognizes psychological safety as the secret of the exceptionally successful teams.
Psychological safety is the common belief of all members of a team that it is safe (within the team) to take interpersonal risks. ”
See also: Psychological Safety in Agile Teams
How can I improve teamwork starting now?
To increase the atmosphere of psychological safety, you have to understand that it is mainly influenced by interactions at the team level - with colleagues and superiors. Accordingly, that is also the starting point for changes (Edmondson & Mogelof, 2005).
1. Record the status quo
Before taking action, it is important to find out where you are as a team. Maybe your team members already feel psychologically secure. To do this, you can judge the statements below. You can find more information about our approach right here.
2. Clarify common expectations
If it turns out that psychological safety in the team can still be expanded, you should talk about why an open atmosphere in the team is important.
Float this question in the room: What advantages would an improvement have for your team? Only if you develop a common expectation in the team, can you really increase your potential in this aspect. These common expectations create a positive frame for possible measures/action items.
3. Break the “golden rule”
Treat team members not how you like to be treated, but how they would like to be treated.
You can do this by asking about their preferences: What kind of feedback do you like to receive? How often should we sit together in a team to talk about teamwork and the team atmosphere? How can team communication be improved?
Conclusion on improving teamwork & Part 2: Psychological Safety
You can already implement these three methods to improve collaboration in your team with the help of psychological safety. In our second blog article on psychological safety, we’ll describe three more practical tips for you.
If you are interested in how Echometer helps with team development, check out Echometer’s tool for team retrospectives and 1:1 meetings.
By the way, I have a video for you below on how to increase psychological safety in your team with 4 concrete exercises - highly recommended.
Sources: Psychological safety
Edmondson, A. (1999). Psychological Safety and Learning Behavior in Work Teams. Administrative Science Quarterly, 44(2), 350.
Edmondson, A. & Mogelof, JP (2005). Explaining Psychological Safety in Innovation Teams: Organizational Culture, Team Dynamics, or Personality? In Thompson, L. & Choi, H.-S. (Eds.), Creativity and Innovation in Organizational Teams. New York: Psychology Press.
Video Recommendation: Psychological Safety Exercises*
Would you like to develop your team?
We have developed a software tool based on the latest psychological findings. With it, you can, for example, reflect on psychological safety with your team - more information here:
