These days, mentions of psychological safety in the business press are extraordinarily common, and its importance seems to be recognized across industries ranging from healthcare to tech to financial services. A popular topic before the pandemic, psychological safety has become that much more so due to its relevance to agility, diversity and inclusion, and remote working. But with this ubiquity comes misunderstanding. One crucial misconception among business leaders is that psychological safety will be present in any reasonably healthy work environment, like freedom from harassment or a commitment to keeping workers injury-free are. In fact, psychologically safe work environments are rare.
4 Steps to Boost Psychological Safety at Your Workplace
Lessons from one company’s approach.
June 22, 2021
Summary.
Especially in tumultuous times, managers and their teams increasingly depend on candor, speed, and creativity to make progress. Creating psychological safety — the confidence that candor and vulnerability are welcome — in a workplace is truly challenging and takes an unusual degree of commitment and skill. But it can be done. The authors present four essential elements for creating psychological safety based on successful implementation at a Swedish financial group. First, focus on performance. Second, train both individuals and teams. Third, incorporate visualization. Finally, normalize work-related vulnerability. These steps comprise a powerful approach to altering the climate and capabilities of any team.
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Accelerate your career with Harvard ManageMentor®. HBR Learning’s online leadership training helps you hone your skills with courses like Leading People. Earn badges to share on LinkedIn and your resume. Access more than 40 courses trusted by Fortune 500 companies.
What you need to know about being in charge.