Fear is a great motivator in many areas of life. Many people are driven to work, excel, have healthy lifestyles out of fear of something.
In the workplace, it’s a great motivator for people to stay silent, hide problems and agree externally even when they disagree internally.
Michael Bunting, author of Mindful Leader, states that in companies they have surveyed, employees have self-assessed that 33 percent of their time at work is spent on image management. This means that they spend one-thirds of their time looking like they’re working, they’re credible and they care.
A fear and shame culture drives people to have to self-protect rather than contribute to the goals of the company.
Many leaders say they are open and transparent until they hear something they don’t like. The response that employees see demonstrated to their colleagues-those asking questions, disagreeing with the boss, going against status quo-is the best indicator of an organization’s culture.
When dissenting opinions are voiced and welcomed, this sends the message that one can disagree and be accepted and even recognized for it.
When assertiveness is met with shame and disapproval, this tells people it’s better to stay silent than speak up.
What’s the cost of individuals staying silent?
At best, they don’t share their creative ideas that could give birth to innovations and cost savings.
At worst, they hide the mistakes they did or see, and this could cost unlimited amount of resources.
Many bosses think that their teams are doing a good job, without realizing how many dissatisfied customers they’re turning away because the employees are trained to keep them happy at the expense of better customer service.
Amy Edmondson coined the idea of psychological safety, which she defines as ‘a belief that one will not be punished or humiliated for speaking up with ideas, questions, concerns or mistakes.’
In short, it’s okay to take risks. And as with many things in life, risks come with great returns.
It takes risks to be different, to take chances, to be wrong and to succeed greatly.
Why would we want that? Because it takes risks to be brilliant, to think outside the box. The lack of psychological safety encourages people to be on their toes, fearing making mistakes anytime lest a bomb explodes. This alone drains so much energy that could be used for doing quality work.
Not having this safety makes people compliant, neither engaged nor committed. They will be busy showing and saying what they think their leaders want to hear.
And that is rarely the truth. They can sugarcoat success to look bigger, even if it’s at the cost of profit, long-term business and employee retention. They will make the problems invisible until it becomes too big to be hidden.
Signs that employees have psychological safety
They can admit they made a mistake. This means they feel safe to be vulnerable and transparent.
Status quo is questioned and innovated. If individuals are able to voice out opinions on what may not be working, it’s a good sign they feel safe.
Negative feedback is given in different directions-upward, downward and lateral. This means they feel comfortable telling their managers and peers what things can be improved on.
The energy around people is light. Having fun and a lot of laughter in conversations is an indicator that interactions are positive.
There are no secrets. The more fear there is, the more secret conversations happen in pantries and corners. If people can speak up openly, there is no need for secrets.
What it’s not
There are many fears and misconceptions about psychological safety that makes leaders resist to it. Here are some of them.
Disrespect: Some people feel that being disagreed to equates to being disrespected. Speaking objectively and respectfully is needed in discussing opposing views. The skill of taking things objectively and speaking concisely about the issue is key.
Lack of accountability: There is a misunderstanding that if it’s okay for people to make mistakes, they won’t be held accountable. The opposite is true, holding people accountable and cocreating the solutions can only be possible with psychological safety.
Poor quality: Being excellent in products, services and customer satisfaction would be a lot easier if the culture is more open to honest conversations. What makes for poor quality are people who hide their weaknesses out of fear, and fake competence.
How do you achieve this?
Learn to have healthy conflict. Lack of conflict may mean people stay silent about their disagreements. Being inclusive of ideas and questions would naturally get into conflicts every now and then. Dealing with it respectfully while maintaining good working relationships will encourage people to speak up.
Identify what’s working and what’s not. Make it part of the process to talk about what’s helpful and what needs to be changed. This could be feedback to people, processes and products. This way, the discussions are seen as ways to improve rather than an attack.
Stay curious. When differing beliefs and opinions emerge, understand where it’s coming from. Getting to what could be causing the differences is good information to determine what the best course of action is.
Treat people as human beings. Foster positive interactions and relationships around the organization. People tend to be more engaged when they feel valued as a person.
People want to do excellent jobs when they can. It generally doesn’t feel good to fail and have to hide our true selves and thoughts. Create an environment where excellence is easier reached in your organization.