Lesson 37: 4 Steps to Building More Effective Teams

A recent article from Harvard Business School summarizes the work of Professor Amy C. Edmondson. 
According to Edmonson, psychological safety is an environment where people can speak up without fear of retribution, leading to better team performance and work culture. Her theory was affirmed in a large study where psychological safety was identified as a key component of successful teams.

Edmonson emphasizes that leading through fear is no longer an option. It neither motivates nor enables high performance. In recent research, Edmonson and colleagues identified four steps that leaders can take to facilitate psychological safety among those they lead.

First, Encourage teams to bond through day-to-day tasks.
When people work together, the act of being productive creates a positive feedback loop that increases psychological safety, which increases productivity. There’s a reason why mission trips or working at a church supper are bonding experiences for those involved.

Second, Normalize opportunities to learn from mistakes.
Edmonson says leaders can encourage learning behaviors, such as asking for help or sharing mistakes. The challenge is this involves personal risk, because people can feel awkward or embarrassed. As a leader, you can help people to embrace this type of vulnerability by affirming those who ask for help or share their mistakes.

Third, Ensure that all people feel “seen” 
According to Edmonson, leadership used to be about how to get the work done. Now it’s about how people are doing. Why? Because engaged people get things done. When people know the leader cares about them as a person, that fosters psychological safety.

Finally, Seek input with humility and openness.
When you model vulnerability by asking for input, you are not only showing that you value what others have to say, you are increasing psychological safety. And, when you are able to hear bad news or opinions that don’t agree with yours as a non-anxious presence, you encourage others to tell you the truth about what’s going on.

​As a leader, you can deal with that.