What are three key factors that contribute to psychologically safe teams?
Being respectful
Being open to feedback
Being supportive
Evaluate, with details, a previous professional setting (or team) you were in with regards to psychological safety.
I worked for a company for a very long time. At the start of my employment I was given a personality test to complete. The test was explained as a way to build better teams. Unfortunately I ended up getting put in a bucket. During team builing exercises, our group did not mess as such we had little to no conversation and ultimately chose to tackle tasks individually vs as a team. Sometimes we were able to complete a task successfully. However, majority of the time we failed. During my time at the company I had moved from team to team, at one point I was due to retake the personality test which I declined. I tried to have a conversation with my supervisor about it but she did not listen and tried to push me into take the test by stating my job would be in jeopardy if I did not comply. It was at this moment that I took my fight to HR. I was willing to loose my job over this situation. During my conversation with HR, I found out the test is optional and has not impact on my job standing. It led me to point out the issues I was having with my supervisor with the threats and micro-management. After my experience with this situation, I re-evaluated my goals and values and discovered I no longer liked my job or the company as a whole. I begun my search for a new job.
What impact do teams that operate with a high degree of psychological safety have on their company and the team members?
The may be filled with smart people who are very efficient; however, the group’s norms discourage equal speaking. They do not have an emotional engagment with each other. There is a high chance they will continue to operate as an individual vs as a team.