Improving psychological safety with the flywheel metaphor.
How can you improve psychological safety in your team? Think about the flywheel metaphor.
Leaders who understand that psychological safety is essential and want to do something about it soon realize that day-to-day behavior is the only way to create a positive impact.
Writing a memo saying, “Psychological safety is part of our corporate DNA” won’t do the trick.
Working with leaders for several years, I observed how small behavioral changes can create a positive impact on the team’s felt permission for candor.
Below are three scripts that I saw leaders use that encouraged team members to speak up with questions, mistakes, or new strategies. As a result, those teams increased the quality of their decision-making and performance.
At the start of a problem-solving meeting:
“This is a complex challenge, and the territory is new to me. That is exactly why all of us are here today. Because when we combine the unique experience and expertise we bring to the table, the quality of our decisions increases. So let’s start by talking to your neighbor for five minutes to discuss ideas or questions you brought to the meeting.”
When someone brings up an issue:
“I appreciate you bringing this up. I can imagine this must have been difficult.”
When everyone in a session agrees too fast on a strategic direction:
“OK, so this is one possible direction. Let’s hear some dissent. What direction would our competitor take, and what do we learn from that?”
Improving psychological safety is not about the one grand intervention that miraculously changes everything. Instead, think about the flywheel metaphor: invest in small increments, focus on learning, and keep pushing until you reach a breakthrough point.