Learning what it means to be “psychologically safe” at work.
On Wednesday, 12 February, 2020, HiveIT Delivery Manager, Liz Hnat (Liz Hnat) spoke at the Showroom’s Breakfast Club networking event about “psychological safety” and the ways it can be used to support a thriving workforce.
As an employee of Hive IT, autopilot reactions often direct me to think in technical and digital ways. So it was a welcome surprise, when I realised that Liz’s talk had nothing to do with online psychological safety, and instead looked to explore the impact of real-time, human psychological safety in any workplace or team.
The aim of the Showroom’s Breakfast Club talks is to offer the audience an opportunity to learn something new. Before the talks, attendees enjoy coffee and breakfast sarnies in the Showroom restaurant — given the 8am start, the group has the run of the space which is reassuringly welcoming and informal — before heading into Screen 1 for the talk and discussion. As networking events go, there’s nothing like settling down in the familiar comfort of the Showroom cinema with a cup of tea and being encouraged to learn something new.
Whilst Liz utilised the cinema screen to display her presentation, my ability to connect to the topic came through her use of personal anecdotes and experiences, which combined to explain the concept of psychological safety. Liz also highlighted why it is vital to have and how it can hugely benefit any team hoping to improve efficiency and trusted working practices.
So in my own words (a selection of Liz’s key slides are pictured for reference), here’s what I learnt from the talk:
- Being psychologically safe at work is about feeling confident enough to take professional risks with the support of your colleagues.
- If you feel psychologically safe in a professional environment, you are likely to be more efficient in your work.
- Team productivity relies on positive psychological safety.
- Taking professional risks is about not being afraid to fail. Yet, it is important to understand that to ‘fail successfully’ requires learning. And learning from failure means making better informed decisions after you’ve reflected on useful failings.
- To assess if you are psychologically safe in your workplace, ask yourself: “would you feel comfortable raising challenging issues with the senior team, without fear of the reply? And, can you truly ask anyone any question (within professional boundaries, of course) without worrying about being judged”?
If you’ve answered yes to one or both of these questions, then it’s great news for you — you are experiencing psychological safety at work.
If you’re interested in learning more, I’d urge you to check out the “Ladder of Inference” (Argyris, C., “Overcoming Organizational Defenses: facilitating Organizational Learning”). It offers a guide on why we as individuals can feel psychologically ‘unsafe’ when personal expectations and beliefs collide with the challenge of someone else’s.
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