...solve thorny business challenges in the time it takes to drink a cup of tea
What does it take to build (or weaken) an enthusiastic, motivated and high-performing workforce in your accountancy firm?
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Project Aristotle, a multi-year study of 180 teams at Google, was formed to determine the factors involved in why and how some teams are effective and some are not. They initially looked at each team's composition, particularly in regard to educational backgrounds, skills and personality traits of the team members.
What they found was that none of these factors was decisive in determining the effectiveness of a team. They eventually discovered that, even for very smart, high-powered employees, a psychologically safe work environment was critical for team effectiveness.
Other factors – clear goals, dependable colleagues, meaningful and impactful work – were all very important, but psychological safety was essential.
Imagine you’re in a team meeting and someone takes an interpersonal risk and proposes a new idea to solve a thorny problem.
However, instead of receiving supportive, open-minded, constructive feedback, another member of the team is dismissive. Perhaps they belittle the idea and make sarcastic comments. It may even be delivered with humour, but there’s no doubting the put-down.
The team member likely feels embarrassed and devalued. Chances are they are hesitant to contribute further. Chances are they’ll avoid contributing at future meetings as well. Psychological safety is lost.
Psychological safety is a discreet, but powerful, source of success or failure in all firms.
You may be unfamiliar with this idea of psychological safety, but it is now recognised as a fundamental element of enthusiastic, motivated and high-achieving teams.
What exactly is psychological safety?
Psychological safety is a shared belief within a group that it is safe to take interpersonal risks without fear of negative consequences for one’s self-image, status or career. Such safety results when you trust and respect one another.
When people believe it’s safe, they feel free to express themselves openly. They share their ideas. They ask questions. They admit mistakes. They engage in constructive discussions without the fear of being judged, ridiculed or punished. Their enthusiasm, energy, passion and commitment to their work improves..
Psychological safety exists in an atmosphere where colleagues and team members feel able to speak openly with candour in any situation.
Ignore psychological safety at your peril...
Virtually no one comes to work in the morning to be (or to be SEEN to be) ignorant, incompetent or disruptive. We all seek to avoid these interpersonal risks, either consciously or unconsciously.
In most cases, real innovation, progress and success is dependent upon cooperation and collaboration amongst team members.
This, in turn, is dependent upon trust, respect and candour which, in turn, is built on a sense of psychological safety.
“Ideas typically do not just come to you. They happen because you’ve been talking about something and talking to a lot of people about it for a long period of time.”
Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook Q&A Session
“Organisations don’t have ideas – people do, so we need to make sure people can contribute their ideas.”
Margaret Heffernan, entrepreneur, CEO,
writer and keynote speaker
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When you create and nurture a culture of psychological safety, you ensure that your team feel free to exchange ideas, concerns and questions without fear of reprisal or negative consequences. This will open a flow of creativity, innovation and growth for your firm.
What happens if there's a lack of psychological safety in your firm?
When interpersonal risk/fear rather than interpersonal safety rules, you get:
Reduced engagement, creativity and innovation, resulting in lost opportunities and lower performance
Decreased trust and collaboration, which reduces productivity, engagement and progress
Lower morale, risking the loss of your good people
Build a fearless culture...
In an environment lacking psychological safety, team members may be hesitant to take risks, to try new approaches or to learn from failures.
This inhibits individual and organisational growth, stifles innovation and limits the ability to adapt to the rapidly changing world in which we live.
In her book, The Fearless Organization, Amy Edmondson, Professor of Leadership and Management at the Harvard Business School, writes of her work with a hospital. They were struggling to reduce medical errors and improve patient outcomes.
By building a culture where employees at all levels felt comfortable speaking up about potential issues or problems, the hospital was able to significantly reduce medical errors and improve patient care.
According to Amy:
“Without psychological safety, people cannot speak up, contribute or learn. They cannot contribute their unique perspective or value.”
and
“Fear in the workplace is lethal to creativity, innovation and engagement.”
Amy Edmondson - The Fearless Organization, Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace for Learning Innovation and Growth
Lives at risk...
Investigations of the 2005 Deepwater Horizon drilling rig incident suggest that, prior to 20 April 2010, people felt they couldn't voice their concerns.
This lack of psychological safety likely contributed to the escalation of risks and the subsequent tragedy when the drilling rig exploded – 11 killed, 46 injured and the largest marine oil spill the world has seen.
Overall, the absence of psychological safety can have wide-ranging, detrimental effects on your team’s stability and well-being, their willingness to collaborate and their ability to innovate.
The success of your firm ultimately depends on you nurturing and maintaining psychological safety.
A culture of psychological safety pays off...
Psychological safety should be a key component of any workplace culture, as it allows for: