Is psychological safety a double-edged sword?

You have probably heard a bit about psychological safety. It's the magic of management - the secret of high performing teams. It's the kind of thing you "like" on Linkedin or download as an audiobook for your trip down South. But, be warned, in the wrong hands, it could be double-edged sword.

Tim Clark (2020) defines psychological safety as feeling included, safe to learn, able to contribute and challenge the status quo. When all four aspects of psychological safety are present, BOOM, work places, sports teams and families thrive.

When you don’t have psychological safety, people stop telling you your shirt is on inside out. You get egg on your organisational face. Gladwell (2008) cites a horrifying example of low psychological safety. A co-pilot was too embarrassed to directly inform his captain their plane was heading into a mountain. You can guess the rest.

One trick to increasing psychological safety is to be more human. Engage in behaviours that make people from all walks of life feel safe, valued, heard, visible and welcome. Affirm skilled bravery in conversations. Ask co-workers to tell you what is wrong with your plans so you can make them better. Stop being a big deal. Instead of walking around with a clipboard, seek a little feedback from your friends.

But wait. Could you have too much psychological safety? In some instances, this is true. I have noticed that some teams get too comfortable with each other and stop maintaining expectations and standards. Leadership theorists call this the country club approach to management. It is all donuts and cream minus the cardio. Everyone gets a prize. No wonder the business is going south.

I reckon there's a better middle ground. Harness psychological safety so that you can improve feedback and performance. That's what it is good for. If a co-worker damages the team’s vision, they need to be told and, ten times better, helped, But you can't do that when you're not being honest.

Most people don’t want to give performance feedback because they fear offending someone. But that's like not caring enough to get old mate to put his seat belt on. It's pretty dangerous when you start privileging your own comfort over another's person's safety. Likewise, their workplace success.

Sometimes it might be awkward to give difficult feedback but that's why you developed a positive culture in the first place - so that people knew when they missed the mark, it was professional, not personal.

Yes, we need psychological safety. Not just to feel good but to improve.

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References

Clark, T. (2020). The four stages of psychological safety: Defining the path to inclusion and innovation. Berrett-Koehler Publishers.

Coyle, D. (2022). The culture playbook: 60 highly effective actions to help your group succeed. Bantam Books.

Delizonna, L. (2017). High-performing teams need psychological safety. Here’s how to create It. Harvard Business Review, 8, 1-5.

Gladwell, M. (2008). Outliers: The story of success. Penguin