How Safe Do You Feel in Your workplace?
In the second special celebrity episode of Why Care? I am joined by double gold Olympic Champion Dame Kelly Holmes. Kelly is the first woman ever in Great Britain to win two gold medals at the same games, and has gone on to obtain a litany of impressive accomplishments, including BBC Sports Personality of the Year and European Athlete of the Year following her 2004 wins. During our conversation, Kelly shares her difficult experience navigating the systemic discrimination present in the army in the 1980s-90s, and the psychological trauma it caused. This got me thinking about how organisations can help destigmatize mental health concerns and create psychological safety within teams.
What is psychological safety?
Let’s begin with the definition. Psychological safety is the overall understanding among a team or organisation that all viewpoints, opinions and feelings are valued. It is the consensus that expressing a view doesn’t carry risk, but is rather honoured and given due consideration. Fostering a work culture such as this has been shown to create incredibly successful and agile teams time and time again.
Why does creating psychological safety matter?
Mistakes, successes, struggles and growth are part of the human experience. In order to create successful teams and healthy work dynamics, we can choose to focus on the things that make us the same. For example, a team of educational professionals may choose to focus on their shared passion for sharing knowledge as opposed to the different ways they teach or work. Or, team members of various backgrounds may choose to focus on the joint values of respect and care that their various cultures undoubtedly uphold, as opposed to the differences in the ways that it is communicated. Just to be clear, I don’t mean ignoring people’s differences, simply to recognise that you are all working towards a common endeavour.
Candid conversations, even when they stay within professional boundaries, build trust, acceptance and safety, and importantly, an insolvable glue between team members. This is also how inclusive company cultures are curated. When team members understand - and importantly - feel the impact of psychological safety, they are more predisposed to be active allies for those struggling with mental health, and to step forward themselves if they need additional support. For more on allyship see my article Why Exclusion is Everyone’s Problem. I have also partnered with artist, Louise Emily, on an experiential and innovative approach to understanding what it feels like to walk the path of allyship. To find out how you can bring this unique Art of Allyship experience to your team, please email us.
Candour around these conversations also destigmatizes mental health struggles. This itself is the first necessary step before effective change can take place. Perhaps one of the well-known stories of mental health in organisations is that of Brandon Truaxe, founder of skincare brand The Ordinary. Brandon had a very sad and public battle with his mental health that ultimately compromised both himself, his colleagues, and even the brand. His tragic experience serves to highlight the necessity of taking mental health with full seriousness as leaders, and beginning this by prioritising our own. The phrase “show don’t tell” carries much weight here.
What actionable steps can I take to begin fostering psychological safety in my organisation?
As mentioned, curating such a work culture must be done intentionally and mindfully. There are a number of initiatives organisations and leaders can take, including:
Creation of inclusive practices and policies.
Facilitating the formation of employee resource groups focused around mental health.
As a leader, model healthy behaviours and attitudes towards mental health, such as taking breaks when needed.
Demonstrating empathy for employees who would benefit from additional support.
Train leaders and managers to support team members in considerate and human ways.
Partnering with mental health professionals or organisations to offer the option of professional support.
Talking about mental health is straightforward in theory, but in practice it may be more challenging. My new book Beyond Discomfort: Why inclusive leadership is so hard (and what you can do about it) delves into the art of the constructively uncomfortable conversations that are at the centre of enhancing psychological safety. You can get your hands on a copy of the book here.
At Avenir, we also offer an Inclusive Leadership Programme, designed to guide leaders through the journey of achieving inclusive leadership.