By Christina Nielsen, Content Marketing Specialist at CfL, May 2024.
Have you experienced that you can assume different roles in social groups? This can happen both in your private life and at work.
Perhaps you have noticed that you change yourself to feel that you fit in better. If so, it may be because you (unconsciously) did not experience the group as safe, and therefore you tried to protect yourself. This is exactly how members of your team might also behave.
When this happens in a professional team, there is neither psychological safety nor a good team dynamic. Psychological safety is crucial for creating a healthy work culture, where everyone feels free to express themselves and contribute without fear of negative consequences or judgment.
With power comes responsibility. As a leader, you have the duty to create and maintain psychological safety in your team. By being aware of your own role and using your power to foster openness, trust, and respect, you can build a culture where everyone feels seen, heard, and valued.
Shaping an effective team requires more than professional skills; psychological safety is essential to establish a healthy work culture that enables the team to perform well.
In this article, you will learn how to achieve this through clear communication channels, supportive feedback, and by demonstrating openness and vulnerability as a leader.
One of the benefits of creating psychological safety in your team is that it makes the team more effective. The team becomes more efficient because members are more honest. Team performance improves when members feel safe to share both creative ideas and critical questions, all of which positively benefit the final results.
Without psychological safety, team members may hesitate to take risks, exchange ideas, and fully utilize their potential. This undermines both team dynamics and the organization’s capacity for growth.
Talent alone is not enough. Professional skills do not automatically make a good team – more is needed.
Psychological safety
Psychological safety describes a culture in which members of a group feel secure in expressing themselves without fear of negative consequences. In such a team, there is trust, openness, and respect, and members willingly share ideas, ask questions, and discuss challenges.
There are three fundamental steps to creating psychological safety in your team. They may seem simple and easy to understand, and in theory they are, but for many leaders, implementing them in practice is far more complex. It is often a developmental process that requires you to practice new behaviors.
In the course “How to create psychological safety”, we work with these three steps and also train them using cases and exercises.
Here you get a taste of the course and inspiration on how to begin working with your team’s culture.
Setting the frame means intentionally establishing the context for the meeting or group work in a way that creates psychological safety.
You can do this in many ways, but it essentially involves two things: aligning expectations and providing context.
The way you start a meeting sets the frame. For example, you might steer the group’s thinking to emphasize that it is safe and expected for everyone to contribute—if needed. For instance:
"We have a major task ahead of us that we must solve in the best possible way. It may not be perfect the first time, so we need to put all ideas on the table."
Other times, the best solution may be for the group simply to follow a well-established procedure for a routine task that everyone is accustomed to. For example:
"We need to get this task done as quickly as possible. You know what to do – get started."
In the latter example, it is not expected for group members to contribute ideas because the task does not require it—and everyone already knows this from the start.
As a leader, it is also important to show openness and vulnerability. Share your own challenges, mistakes, and learnings with your team to create an atmosphere of trust and authenticity.
Psychological safety is the foundation for innovation, efficiency, and high-performing teams. This course will help you build that foundation.
Inviting participation is about being very clear in your language that it is important for everyone to contribute. Every member of the group has something to offer, and they should not only contribute but also feel that it is their duty and part of their role to do so.
Roundtable: Ensure that everyone gets a turn. Sometimes it is important to start with those with the least seniority first, so they have the opportunity to speak before the more senior members add their opinions.
Create opponent groups in decision-making meetings: Assign one or two meeting participants the task of identifying weaknesses or challenges in ideas and tasks. This helps to quality-check decisions and makes it clear that contributions are expected—even if members disagree.
Once the first two steps are in place, it is important to respond to the input in a way that does not discourage anyone or prevent them from contributing again in the future.
As a leader, respect is key. You must facilitate dialogue and reflection so that the team becomes a place where members feel safe to be honest and vulnerable. This requires an active effort to break down hierarchical barriers. It also fosters a culture where mistakes are accepted as a vital part of learning and development. Here are some methods you can use:
Acknowledge everyone’s contributions: Be attentive to and appreciate the individual input from team members by listening to their ideas and feedback, regardless of whether you agree with them. Recognize those who take risks and try new approaches—even if they might lead to mistakes. Listen, offer constructive feedback, and show interest in every perspective. Such a trustful culture promotes openness and honesty, which are essential for the team’s success.
Establish a constructive attitude towards mistakes: Destigmatize errors. Avoid the negative connotations or shame that often accompany mistakes or failures. Use positive language to refrain from judging or demeaning others’ ideas or opinions. Make it a natural part of work that mistakes occur—"where there is action, there is waste." Discuss them openly and learn from them.
Address unacceptable behavior: Do not allow anyone to spread negativity or speak disparagingly about others in the group. Tackle the issue proactively and make it clear that bullying is not tolerated. This shows strength and earns respect.
Focusing on these methods will significantly strengthen team cohesion and effectiveness. In this way, psychological safety becomes a cornerstone in building an effective team, where mutual respect forms the foundation for outstanding performance and innovation.
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In the How to Build Psychological Safety course, you’ll gain the tools needed to assess, build, and foster psychological safety within your team.
Learn how to lead and facilitate one or more teams towards better performance in a motivating and effective way. Foster motivation, improve collaboration, and boost performance.
Gain insight into your personal leadership and gain company as a leader