Making a Commitment to Connection

I am so delighted to be a part of the IRG team and to be able to contribute to the growth of leaders and organizations who are inspiring. I am now leveraging my background in mental health and substance use together with executive coaching to focus on the aspirational process of psychological safety. I say aspirational as the process to improve psychological safety is constant and ongoing. It is not a destination so much as a journey that can lead to significant rewards including innovation, contribution, employee satisfaction, and retention.

 Amy Edmondson describes psychological safety as “a climate where people feel safe enough to take personal risks by speaking up and sharing concerns, questions or ideas.”  

The safety component is a shared element within the group.  Safety is present when the group expects people to speak up and contribute and understands that “when people don’t speak up, the organization’s ability to innovate and grow is threatened.”

 I have often witnessed (and been guilty of it myself from time to time) the adoption of an idea that follows the path of Ready! Fire! Aim! – A well-intended path of action that goes off into the woods because it has not been thought through, or one where dabbling is preferred when in fact a deep dive is necessary.

 So where to start? Effective leadership will start with an evaluation or measurement of the current state of safety. Pretty straight forward, right?  But here’s the rub.  If leadership is serious about psychological safety, they must commit in advance to acting on a long-term agenda to address and improve the psychological safety and the culture of inclusion within the team or organization.  Evaluation of current state without a commitment to action can actually harm psychological safety.  This can be a fatal false start if no attention is paid to results and activity is stalled, or resources are not dedicated to improvement.  Trust towards the leader, an essential part of the process, may be damaged and set the agenda back significantly as the repair work necessary to go again takes time to implement. Similarly, that notion of dabbling or playing around the edges will provoke resistance from the team members if the inquiries are not treated seriously.

 Before committing to the process consider the following steps

 1.     Answer your why? – Why do you want to do this and what are you prepared to commit?  Take the time to share this information with those who will be asked to participate, outlining the benefits that include higher engagement, reduced stress and improved mental wellness, decreased turnover and contribution to innovation.

2.     Answer the what? – What specifically needs to be addressed? Where are the tensions points in the system? Where does communication break down? What is the ability of the team members to have tough conversations, to take risks, or to ask for help?

3.     Answer the when? – How long are you prepared to be a champion of this effort? What is the intensity, frequency, and duration of the dialogue about this improvement effort? If this is a larger undertaking, how are you going to commit the resources necessary AND make this a priority by removing other activities that may impede progress?

 It is often best to consider a six-to-12-month window to address initiatives and to create a path that is transparent, measurable, and quite frankly, models psychological safety while at the same time building it. No small task!

 In today’s environment there is a need for employers to acknowledge and understand that they are key contributors to the mental wellness of their employees and that a psychologically poor work environment is truly toxic to the overall functioning of their teams and by extension the future of their business.  The knowledge economy draws down on the intelligence, commitment, and imagination of the brains and emotions of their teams. An investment in this at a minimum supports sustainability, but optimally, contributes to growth and expansion and overall better mental wellness for all.

An initiative in growing psychological safety is a great investment in yourself and your team.  Stay tuned for more posts on this exciting topic, or if you want some help as you embark on this journey reach out to myself or my talented colleagues at IRG.

By Dave Harrhy CEC ACC IRG Associate Coach