Psychological Safety

What Google Learned From Its Quest to Build the Perfect Team

Discussion Questions:

What are three key factors that contribute to psychologically safe teams?

Empathy: *This can kind of play into social sensitivity because people can observe nonverbal cues but it's important to act in the appropriate way after observing those nonverbal cues. For example, as a result of observing what's going on take appropriate measures, like saying "I hear you, and see you", and putting yourself in that team member's shoes.

Open communication: As mentioned by Rozovksy, good team's members had a chance to speak which in turn doesn't make anyone feel left out or feel like they're not adding their 2 cents to a project. Open communication also includes teammates being open about any hardships they might be experiencing as well as having a casual open conversation which can add a level of common ground. As a result, making people feel like they're in a safer space.

Social sensitivity: As mentioned by Rozovksy, the ideal teams demonstrated this factor. In layman's terms, they were able to pick up on nonverbal cues like someone's change in tone, facial expressions, and demeanor.

Evaluate, with details, a previous professional setting (or team) you were in with regard to psychological safety.

I think one of the more recent experiences I had was at Code Fellows. Specifically when we were trying to make sure both the ops daytime and nights/weekend cohorts would be enrolled in time. This was a particularly fuzzy time because both cohorts were starting on the same day and there was some miscommunication about who was actually supposed to verify everyone's shipping addresses. Nonetheless, us in admissions, finance, and Ethan came together to figure out who had the bandwidth for what. For example, who would be making the calls, updating the spreadsheet, communicating with the student about what hardware they need, etc. At some points we joked over slack about the fuzziness of it all and when someone tapped out about feeling a little tired about calling to confirm addresses another person stepped in. It was definitely a stressful, time crunch of a few days but what helped us get to the finish line was making some light of it and addressing when someone felt like they needed a break.

What impact do teams that operate with a high degree of psychological safety have on their company and the team members?

Teams that operate this impacts team members to have more satisfaction in their roles because they feel that they're in a safer space by being able to openly communicate their ideas and concerns. As we as feeling seen if they might be having a difficult time, and team members being responsive in a supportive way. I think this in turn leads to less turnover which can save the company time and money in trying to look for and train someone new. It also leads to more efficiency and completion of projects.

SUMMARY: This is important to the module because not only will we be working as a team in project week but we'll be continuing to work in teams within the workplace. After reading this article, it's evident that practicing psychological safety will lead to more efficiency, success, and overall satisfaction when working in a collaborative environment.