Psychological Safety - dev2next 2024

Psychological safety is an area that has been getting a lot of attention, and rightfully so. It has been proven to be the most important factor as to what is required to create a high performing team (https://rework.withgoogle.com/blog/five-keys-to-a-successful-google-team/). Safety is also a prerequisite to build learning organizations where people, teams, and organization will grow and learn. As with many buzzwords it can be hard to figure out what it really is and if it is important in a tech world as well.

Gitte has been working very actively with psychological safety since 2017, when she first introduced it into a company. The first step is getting awareness around the area and then you can start looking into creating a safe environment.

In this talk she will talk about what psychological safety is; and equally important what it is not. She will share stories from introducing psychological safety and talk about what it means to our work lives. Gitte will share some of the ways of creating safety, and some things you can start doing ,when you get back to work. If you are ready for it

Transcript

1. Getting to know psychological safety Dev2next Conference, Denver 2024 Gitte Klitgaard @nativewired
2. @nativewired.bsky.social Pronouns: She/her
3. @nativewired.bsky.social Psychological safety and me
4. @nativewired.bsky.social * 1965: Edgar Schein & Warren Bennis: “In order for (discomfort) to lead to an increased desire to learn rather than to a heightened anxity.. An environment must be created with maximum psychological safety” * 1990 William Kahn: Psychological engagement and disengagement at work * 1999: Amy Edmonson: “The importance of safety when solving real-world problems” 4 A bit of history
5. @nativewired.bsky.social * 2012 Project Aristotle at Google * 2016-ish Modern Agile (make safety a prerequisite) 5 From the IT industry
6. @nativewired.bsky.social 6 Project Aristotles Psychological safety Dependability Structure & clarity Meaningful work Impact of work
7. @nativewired.bsky.social So what is psychological safety? 7
8. @nativewired.bsky.social ”Psychological safety is being able to show and employ one's self without fear of negative consequences of self-image, status or career" (Kahn) 8 Definition of psychological safety
9. @nativewired.bsky.social * You are psychologically safe of you are not afraid to: * Be yourself * Make mistakes * Ask questions * Raise problems * Take risks * Disagree 9 Kerievsky’s 6 dimensions
10. @nativewired.bsky.social * Asking questions instead of staying quiet in fear of looking ignorant * Admitting mistakes instead of hiding them in fear of looking incompetent * Offering ideas instead of holding on to them in fear of looking intrusive * Challenging norms instead of sitting back in fear of looking negative Amy Edmonson 10 What will it help us with?
11. @nativewired.bsky.social Do we have it? 11
12. @nativewired.bsky.social 12 @it_depends_cp
13. @nativewired.bsky.social * The obvious unsafe * The invisible unsafe * The invisible safe * Indications of safety How can we tell?
14. @nativewired.bsky.social 14
15. @nativewired.bsky.social 15 Smart boss :) ”I think we have psychological safety, but I also know that if we don’t have it, I will probably not know” Sara Fahlander, Head of Department, SVTi
16. @nativewired.bsky.social * Mistakes are not held against you * We bring up problems and tough issues. * It is ok to be different * It is safe to take a risk on this team. * We ask for help. * No one in this team would deliberately undermine my efforts * My unique skills and talents are valued and utilized Questionaire - rewritten
17. @nativewired.bsky.social Safety vs Comfort
18. @nativewired.bsky.social 18 Safety is not (always) comfort Photo by Jordan Whitt on Unsplash
19. @nativewired.bsky.social Comfort zone Comfort zone Danger zone Learning zone
20. @nativewired.bsky.social Comfort zones
21. @nativewired.bsky.social 21 Psychological safety and performance Anxiety zone Apathy zone Learning and high performance zone Comfort zone Low standard High psychological safety High standard Low psychological safety From “Fearless Organisation”
22. @nativewired.bsky.social How to create safety 22
23. @nativewired.bsky.social How to create safety I (Edmonson) As an organisation, look at the domains: * Attitude to risk and failure * Willingness to help * Open conversation * Inclusion and diversity
24. @nativewired.bsky.social How to create safety II (Edmonson) As a leader: * Frame work as learning * Model curiosity * Show fallibility Photo by Gary Butterfield on Unsplash
25. @nativewired.bsky.social How to create safety III (Me) * Set clear expectations * Listen * Care * Give and receive feedback * Be vulnerable * Be curious * Listen * Repeat yourself Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash
26. @nativewired.bsky.social 26 Expectations ”I keep forgetting that I role model more than I assume; and without clear expectations, I create wrong implicit expectations” Marcin Floryan
27. @nativewired.bsky.social How to create safety IV (Me) * Set clear expectations * Listen * Care * Give and receive feedback * Be vulnerable * Be curious * Listen * Repeat yourself Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash
28. @nativewired.bsky.social * Psychological safety is important * For people, for innovation, for learning * Safety does not always mean comfort * In fact safety allows you to be in discomfort * Building safety takes an effort –and it is worth it J * You can do something no matter what your role is Wrap-up Mummy by my friend Jakob Wolman
29. @nativewired.bsky.social I love connecting gitte.klitgaard@yahoo.dk http://www.nativewired.com/ dk.linkedin.com/in/gitteklitgaard/ Looking for a workshop or a talk? Thinking about getting some leadership coaching and guidance? Want to be coached? Have an organisation that could use help? Anything else I can do for you? Get in touch J
30. @nativewired.bsky.social * If you make a mistake on this team, it is not held against you. * Members of this team are able to bring up problems and tough issues. * People on this team sometimes accept others for being different. * It is safe to take a risk on this team. * It isn’t difficult to ask other members of this team for help. * No one on this team would deliberately act in a way that undermines my efforts. * Working with members of this team, my unique skills and talents are valued and utilized. Original questions
31. @nativewired.bsky.social * A good intro to psychological by Amy Edmonson: Building a psyhologically safe workplace * Gallup State of Work report 2023 * Article with 7 questions to determine psychological safety https://hbr.org/2023/02/what-is-psychological-safety * Book: Amy Edmonson: “The fearless organisation” * Psychological safety when remote by Matthew Philip – talk and slides https://actineo.xyz/blog/psychological-safety-and- remote-work/ 31 Links and references
32. @nativewired.bsky.social * Kahn, William A. (1990-12-01). "Psychological Conditions of Personal Engagement and Disengagement at Work". Academy of Management Journal. 33 (4): 692–724. doi:10.2307/256287. ISSN 0001-4273 * Brene Brown: https://www.ted.com/talks/brene_brown_on_vulnerability ?language=en * Alex Harms: The Little guide to empathic leadership https://www.amazon.de/-/en/Alex-Harms/dp/0692674853/ 32 Links etc
33. @nativewired.bsky.social Photos from unsplash.com 33 * Jordan Whitt * Charles Deluvio * Thomas Kinto * Shane Rounce * Michelle Tresemer * Karol Stefański * Riccardo Annandale * Element5 Digital * Vlad Hilitanu * Daniel Gonzalez * Jakayla Toney