The sound of silence: Teams without psychological safety

Whether we are working in our favourite or most dreaded team, showcasing our weaknesses, admitting our mistakes and contradicting others, is never what motivates us to go to work each day.

Teams have the potential to noticeably elevate performance, by harnessing the collective skills, experiences and innovative ideas of their individuals. For this reason, organisations are investing significant resources into their search for the best and brightest talent. ¹ It is widely presumed that hiring and organizing talented people into teams, with the right blend of personality types and skills, is the key to building the highest performing team. However, growing research from businesses and academics alike indicates that a team’s effectiveness is not dependent on the sum of its parts. ² In fact, as Google sought to construct the perfect team, they uncovered what distinguished high performing teams from others were the internal dynamics between team members. ³ These dynamics were found to be best facilitated by a climate of psychological safety.

This article explores what a climate of psychological safety is and why it is so important for success. It goes on to outline common barriers to developing psychological safety and then, proposed key practices and behaviours that we can use to create such a climate.

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