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Insights for High Stress Professions
When Silence is Golden Some information can’t be shared. It may be classified, inappropriate, or illegal to share (for example, people on your team experiencing disabilities). Some information doesn't need to be shared. Candid feedback that doesn’t focus on behaviors or ways to improve performance isn’t helpful or welcome (think feedback about someone’s voice, appearance, or personality). Not everything on your mind needs to be shared. Information that does not provide clarity or help in making informed decisions may not need to be shared. Information that people can’t take productive action on yet may not need to be shared yet. Tactical Transparency In Action Effective transparency hinges on its ability to provide clarity, empower informed decision-making, and help people feel secure by knowing what to expect. Finding the right levels and methods of transparent communication will likely take some trial and error. Once you figure it out, it may shift as the psychological safety on your team increases. Here are some opportunities for you to increase transparency: 1. Provide insight into strategic vision and goals
Tactical transparency is an invaluable tool in nurturing trust and psychological safety within any team or organization. By providing clarity, leaders can foster an environment where informed decision-making thrives. As you navigate this terrain, remember that transparency is not a static concept—it's a dynamic force that adapts and grows alongside the evolving dynamics of your team. Embrace it, refine it, and watch as it becomes a cornerstone of your organizational culture. References Brown, B. (2018). Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts. Random House. Edmondson, A. C. (2018). The Fearless Organization: Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace for Learning, Innovation, and Growth. John Wiley & Sons. For more articles about building psychological safety, check out my series here:
Integrity in Action: Building trust and psychological safety in the small moments Flipping the Script: Language Shifts for Building Trust and Psychological Safety
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 Photo credit Dean Drobot What is psychological safety and why is it important? “Psychological safety exists when people feel their workplace is an environment where they can speak up, offer ideas and ask questions without fear of being punished or embarrassed.” This means when psychological safety exists in a team, we see people being comfortable speaking up, being themselves, admitting mistakes, and offering honest feedback. We see all ideas and options considered, expertise rise above ego, calculated risk-taking, and honest, authentic, and transparent interactions. We see increased innovation and learning because people are more willing to try things out and learn from mistakes. We see increased reporting of mistakes and increased quality of work because people aren’t afraid to speak up if something went wrong. We see less burnout because people feel safe having conversations around how they’re doing, the workload and pressure of the job, and the resources they need (leadership support, development opportunities, feedback, etc.) to do their job without burning out. There are many things we can do to increase psychological safety on a team. See additional articles at the bottom of this post. Here, I want to focus on how subtle shifts in our language can build trust and boost psychological safety. Humble Curiosity You set the tone for how safe it is to share information with you. We can build trust and psychological safety by reducing our defensiveness and increasing our curiosity. Humble curiosity is a helpful tool for reducing defensiveness and increasing our receptivity to new information. Here are some “sentence starters” to invite participation and feedback through humble curiosity:
Reframes Words have meaning and their meanings have impacts. Some words have a “charge” that can leave people feeling anxious or defensive. Reframing our words can change the impact and energy around what we are doing.
Examining Types of Failure Amy Edmonson describes three types of failures in her book The Fearless Organization. By classifying failures, we can better understand how to handle them. Preventable failures (not to be celebrated) Preventable failures are failures that could have been prevented by someone following correct policy and procedures, or simply having established policies and procedures.
Complex failures Complex failures occur when multiple factors contribute to multiple points of failure. Think of the sinking of the Titanic, or the challenges faced on the Apollo 13 mission. When we experience a complex failure, it’s hard to assign responsibility to just one person or team. While hindsight is 20/20, this perfect storm couldn't have been foreseen or predicted, so what happened wasn’t really preventable. With a complex failure, we want to anticipate and mitigate. Shine a light on things when they go wrong, report concerns, and take steps to repair or reduce the damage of mistakes. Afterward, we can mine this failure for many learning opportunities. Intelligent Failures Intelligent failures are praiseworthy failures. These help us learn and drive innovation. Intelligent failures occur when we take a calculated risk, and it doesn’t work out. Intelligent failures provide us the opportunity to test hypotheses and gain new insight. They give us a chance to acknowledge and mitigate risk before trying this new thing. Establishing psychological safety within a team is critical for fostering an environment where individuals can freely express themselves, share ideas, and seek clarification without fear of reprisal. This dynamic allows for authenticity, the acknowledgment of mistakes, and the offering of candid feedback. With psychological safety, we witness a surge in innovation, higher quality work, and a deeper commitment to learning from our missteps. References Davis, P. (date). Building A Resilient Legal Team Starts With This Skill. The Stress and Resilience Institute. https://stressandresilience.com/building-a-resilient-legal-team-starts-with-this-skill/ Edmondson, A. C. (2018). The Fearless Organization: Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace for Learning, Innovation, and Growth. John Wiley & Sons. For more articles about building psychological safety, check out my series here:
Integrity in Action: Building trust and psychological safety in the small moments Tactical Transparency: A tool for building trust and psychological safety
Keeping Your Word While seemingly straightforward, adhering to this principle can be challenging. Do what you said you were going to do. Keep Your Word. Every time you keep your word, you add marbles to the jar. Every time you don’t, you break trust and take marbles from the jar. When You Fail To Keep Your Word Sometimes things come up, information is missed, estimates are incorrect, and circumstances change. This is part of living in the world as a human and with other humans. If we consistently fall short of doing what we said we would do, we need to reevaluate our priorities and get more realistic on what we promise others. On the occasion we don’t meet the marks we set, here are some things we can do to maintain and build trust: Take Accountability Owning up to our mistakes is an act of courage and integrity. It entails refraining from assigning blame elsewhere and taking responsibility for our actions. If appropriate, apologize for your mistake and the negative impact it had on others. Notify Early and Often If something comes up and you know you can’t follow through on your promise, let the appropriate people know as soon as possible. Addressing challenges promptly enables more effective problem-solving. The Power of the Do-Over Arguably, the most potent tool in the psychological safety toolbox is the "Do-Over." Mistakes are inevitable, but how we respond is critical. This opportunity allows for acknowledgment of missteps and a chance to rectify them. Picture a scenario where someone inadvertently stifled your contributions in a meeting. Now, envision them pausing to reflect, saying, "I realize I unintentionally steamrolled your ideas. May I have a do-over?" This demonstrates they are paying attention and are making genuine commitment to improvement. This action is still impactful if the realization dawns later in the day, prompting their return to acknowledge their oversight and seek your input. So, when faced with feedback that triggers defensiveness, when a trusted colleague shares when you handled something poorly, or when frustration prevents you from choosing better responses, remember to pause, take a breath, and request a do-over. This simple act can be transformative in rebuilding trust and nurturing psychological safety. As we navigate difficult situations, remember that every act of accountability, every honest conversation, and every do-over contributes to the cultivation of trust and psychological safety. These acts hold transformative potential in rebuilding trust and nurturing psychological safety within our teams and relationships. References Brown, B. (2018). Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts. Random House. Brown, B. (2012). Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead. Penguin Random House. Edmondson, A. C. (2018). The Fearless Organization: Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace for Learning, Innovation, and Growth. John Wiley & Sons. For more articles about building psychological safety, check out my series here:
Flipping the Script: Language Shifts for Building Trust and Psychological Safety Tactical Transparency: A tool for building trust and psychological safety |
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