How Psychological Safety Creates High-Performing Teams

​The strongest predictor of high performing teams is psychological safety. Teams of people that trust one another enough to speak honestly consistently outperform other teams. These team members ask questions, challenge assumptions, request help, and offer new ideas. They’re not afraid to share unpopular opinions and they can debate each other vigorously, knowing they will not hurt the feelings of others because they know how to separate the content of their argument from the personalities involved.
Having high trust internally also impacts customer loyalty because when employees trust each other, they share information freely allowing them to deliver more consistent service and solve the customer problems faster.

Fred (not his real name) runs a midsized company providing IT services to law firms. He employs 35 people serving a large metropolitan area in southern California. Four years ago, I helped Fred conduct an offsite where among other things we launched an annual employee survey process. This process administered by Fred’s HR partner gathers anonymous information about how engaged employees are, how psychologically safe they feel and other categories related to servicing law firms and dealing with cybersecurity and continuing the employee’s professional development.

The keys to any survey process are the actions taken based on the data. When Fred showed me the results of his latest survey, what stood out to me was a drop in psychological safety which research shows is highly correlated to a drop in the levels of trust people experience.

I then reviewed with Fred what I had learned when I consulted with Google several years ago. They spent several years studying 180 teams to determine what made some teams more successful than others. The findings showed that the quickest way to boost trust and improve psychological safety is to strengthen the bond between an employee and their manager.

I encouraged Fred to quickly create an initiative of one on one conversations between each supervisor and their technicians. I told him to make these conversations a priority and even if he had to pay overtime. Fred should tell the supervisor the goal of these conversations is to have both people feel valued, appreciated and more fully known as an individual.
I gave Fred a one-page worksheet where each would respond to the following items: What jobs they had before coming to Fred’s company, their family life, where they grew up, where they’ve traveled or hope to travel, their professional goals, and what each could do to make the other’s job easier. At the end of the conversation, both parties should reflect. Then come up with actions that if taken would benefit each person and or customers, the company, etc. The supervisor would then type up these action items detailing who should do what by when and why. Send four copies out, one to the technician, one for themselves, one to the HR partner, and one to Fred. Both the supervisor and the technician will communicate to HR and Fred after completing each commitment.

The next step was for Fred to hold an all hands meeting at lunch at a nice restaurant. I suggested Fred greet each employee by name, shaking their hands and welcoming them. Then, brief comments before lunch thanking them for the time they spent having the one on ones and sending their action items to him, which he had read and looked forward to being updated on their completion and the difference they would be making.

 After lunch, Fred would announce his own commitments:
·       A weekly 15 minute all hands meeting providing information on project status and client satisfaction feedback.
·       Publishing a schedule to train every supervisor to conduct monthly one on one conversations.
·       Training every supervisor to conduct monthly one on ones focused on listening, coaching, removing any obstacles, and developing new skills.
·       Launching a new process he called a blameless retrospective after a significant client project to ensure there is documentation and to promote organizational learning.

 My purpose in sharing this story is to reinforce how tightly trust and psychological safety are bonded together, and how this duo boosts performance and employee satisfaction. I encourage everyone to monitor your own level of trust and then speak from your heart so that your relationships at work and elsewhere feel psychologically safe. That way, you will be able to make your work and your life a form of creative self-expression.
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Please contact me for complimentary, confidential conversations for anything you would like to change in your work or in your life: [email protected]; 310-948-3722.
Tom Drucker MA Clinical Psychology UCLA , PhD Work at Anderson School of Business UCLA, is a founding partner of Consultants in Corporate Innovation, transforming leaders and teams plus improving processes in companies big and small. He is also a managing director at Janas Investment Bank. Learn more about him at www.corporate-innovation.com and janascorp.com.

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