(Psychological Safety cont. 4)

Indications (9) that an organisation lacks psychological safety:

i) organised in teams but no teamwork happens, ie don't feel connected, valued and of belonging
"...Without those connection points, we don't feel safe, let alone motivated, to work with others in vulnerable ways..."
LeadFactor, 2022

ii) avoid interaction with others at work, ie just do your own job

iii) avoid being authentic at work, ie put a mask on at work

iv) avoid doing anything new or different, as afraid of making a mistake
"...When mistakes and failures are consistently punished we focus our energy on avoiding harm, not trying new things. Innovation comes at the expense of time, resources, and brain power. The question is, does your organisation value innovation over execution? Are they willing to spend a little time in failure or boundary-pushing results?..."
LeadFactor, 2022

v) not allowed time or space to learn new things
"...humans have a fundamental need to learn and grow. Most organisations expect the team members to learn in their own time, or, even worse, expect them to know everything without experiencing a learning curve first. Aggressive learners need to be nurtured, not suffocated. An organisation that lack psychological safety will pretend that learning is not needed, wanted, or valued..."
LeadFactor, 2022

NB
"...Mistakes are part of the learning process. If you frame them as non-options, your teams will stop learning, taking risks, and innovative. They'll instead become an unengaged executive machine..."

vi) hierarchical organisational structure, ie superiority and hierarchy dictate who participates and contributes; focus on titles, position and/or authority so new ideas, insights, perspectives, points of view, etc are neglected:
"...bias, whether conscious or unconscious, often determines who is allowed to create value in an organisation, and who isn't..."
LeadFactor, 2022

vii) imbalance between autonomy and accountability, ie
"...Unearned autonomy with no accountability can lead to disorder, discomfort, and dissatisfying results. On the other hand, too much accountability with no autonomy can lead to micromanaging, hand-holding, and paternalism..."
LeadFactor, 2022

"... Micro managers don't want their team members to have ownership of what they do, how they do it, and the results they get. When you deny autonomy, you deny the experience of meaningful contribution..."
Jillian Peterson, 2024a

viii) challenging or questioning the status quo is not allowed, ie questions, ideas and opinions that go against current thinking are ignored, unacknowledged, unwelcome, etc.

ix) unproductive disagreements, ie if disagreements become heated; people become stubborn about the need to be right; need to know how to disagree productively.

x) steal credit and withhold praise, ie need to recognise others' success quickly and generously; give credit where credit is due;
"...Never delay or resent the opportunity to show genuine excitement for others' accomplishments..."
Jillian Peterson, 2024a

xi) shoot the messenger of bad news, ie how do you respond to bad news?
"...if you have a consistent track record of anger and resentment towards mistakes and failures, no one's going to want to speak up and tell you about them..."
Jillian Peterson, 2024a

Summary

"...We thrive in environments that respect us and allow us to 1) feel included, 2) feel safe to learn, 3) feel safe to contribute, and 4) safe to challenge the status quo. We cannot do these things, if it is emotionally expensive and fear shuts us down. We're not happy and we're not reaching our potential. But when the environment nurtures psychological safety, there's an explosion of confidence, engagement and performance..."
Timothy Clark, 2020

"...can I be my authentic self, grow, create value, be candid about change..."
LeadFactor, 2022