PSYCHOLOGICAL SAFETY IS A SYSTEM, NOT AN EVENT

Creating a safe, collaborative environment is one of the most important things a leader can do for their team. 

Levels of Psychological Safety

There are four levels of psychological safety:

1. Inclusion: you are part of the group
2. Learner: you can reach out for support
3. Contributor: you can add to the team's knowledge
4. Challenger: you can challenge the status quo

Psychological safety occurs when you can do these actions without fear of repercussion or reprisal. This safety isn't a "one and done" event; it's a continuous practice of engagement, collaboration, and feedback.

Building a Psychologically Safe System

Weak leaders silence voice and shoot the messenger. Strong leaders welcome voice and thank the messenger. Great leaders build systems to amplify voice and elevate the messenger. (Adam Grant - Hidden Potential)

To create a great "voice" system, you need to think in terms of systems.

The first step is to define your system's boundaries, which means understanding your sphere of control. This includes who is on your team and who isn't, where everyone is located, and your communication methods.

Once you've defined the boundary, you can identify your system's inputs and outputs.

• Inputs are the elements that drive your team's actions and decisions. You need to know where these inputs come from, and when and how you receive them.
• Outputs are the results of your team's work. You also need to know where these outputs go, and when and how they get there.

Your system is a complex combination of inputs, processes, and outputs. To foster psychological safety, you need to create a regular rhythm for gathering information, analysing it, making decisions, and using feedback loops. It's crucial to encourage active collaboration at every stage.

To build a great system that supports your team, here are a few key actions to take:

• Work with your team to determine the best platforms for communication and decision-making.
• Delegate decisions as much as possible, moving them closer to the people who have the information needed to make them. You have to trust your team to make the right choices.
• Share information widely. This requires an excellent tool for disseminating information.
• Allow your team to access and collaborate on information from outside the system without needing your permission. However, you need to be aware of what information is coming into your system to help your team navigate noise and optimise decisions.

By making inputs, processes, and outputs clear to everyone and setting up consistent feedback forums, you can create a safe system that promotes engagement, inclusion, empowerment, and ownership. This isn't easy work, and it requires ongoing maintenance and awareness, but it's what good leaders do well.