Creating a positive environment makes it safe for teams to speak up, take risks
We heard a lot about “The Great Resignation” and “Quiet Quitting,” in 2022. To offset these troubling trends, WellWithin leaders are putting extra focus creating a positive work environment this year. We call this approach being psychologically safe.
In a psychologically safe environment employees feel free to speak up, share their opinion – even when its different from their manager – and take risks without fear. In other words, they trust their teammates, manager, and the company enough to be vulnerable and speak and act freely. We need everyone’s input to create a high performing team.
By creating psychological safety, you include every team member’s voice, not just those A-types who always contribute.
The 4 Stages of Psychological Safety
According to Dr. Timothy Clark, author of The 4 Stages of Psychological Safety: Defining the Path to Inclusion and Innovation, employees move through four key stages before they feel psychologically safe enough to make valuable contributions to the team.
Stage 1 — Inclusion Safety: Inclusion safety happens when the basic human need to connect and belong is made. You feel safe to be yourself and accepted for who you are.
Stage 2 — Learner Safety: Learner safety satisfies the need to learn and grow. It’s when you feel safe to ask questions, give and receive feedback, and try new things.
Stage 3 — Contributor Safety: At this level you feel safe to use your skills and abilities to make a meaningful contribution that makes a difference.
Stage 4 — Challenger Safety: In the Challenger Safety stage, we feel safe to speak up and we aren’t afraid to challenge the status quo and share ideas for the team to change and improve.
As we begin this new year, let’s commit to helping others develop courage in our workplace. We need to give trust and psychological safety a place to grow. As leaders we can model vulnerability by listening more and asking questions rather than offering up advice and judgement.
One important way leaders can begin the journey toward creating a safe environment and building Stage 1 is by taking the Trauma Informed Leadership Training. If you’re a manager, you have received emails with details on how to sign up through Develop U. If you haven’t already, sign up now.
When people feel there is space to make mistakes and they trust that others will support them, they begin to take risks. Taking risks and trying new things will help us build a culture of creativity and innovation.