Listening to your team doesn’t matter if they won’t speak up (4 June 2019)

Summary

We all want passionate employees. We want them to care about their jobs and go that extra mile for our company. We also want them to have the confidence to speak up if they think it’s necessary — whether it’s to question a given workplace process or ask a question about the nature of their SMART objectives. Of course, not all employees will stand up and make themselves be heard. So what makes some employees suffer in silence while others are emboldened to stand out from the crowd? The answer is psychological safety.

A psychologically safe workplace cultivates a work environment where team members have the freedom to speak out. This environment thrives on mutual respect and encourages co-workers to share their ideas and thoughts without the fear of being shot down or ignored. The obvious effects of psychological safety are better employee wellbeing and mental health. .

Stuart Hearn, a performance management specialist, gives his three examples of change that can improve the level of psychological safety in the workplace.