“I want to be clear that psychological safety is not about being 'nice'. (…). When you're in a psychologically safe workplace, there will be conflict.” Amy Edmondson

Psychological safety creates an environment where employees feel safe to take risks, share ideas, and experiment with new approaches. This means creating a culture where employees feel valued, respected, and supported, and where they can be themselves without fear of judgement or negative consequences. Psychological safety creates a space in which people…

• Feel included
• Learn
• Contribute
• Challenge the status quo

Why is it important for innovation?

Innovative behaviour involves sharing ideas, challenging the status quo, and actively seeking opportunities for improvement and growth. It often requires individuals to be open-minded, curious, proactive, and willing to embrace uncertainty. However, uncertainties are not easy for people to endure. In order to make this possible regarding an outcome, it is even more important that the team feels secure in the interpersonal relationships.

Creating and maintaining psychological safety is important because it fosters a culture of trust, collaboration, and innovation within teams. It enables people to freely share ideas, learn from failures, embrace diverse perspectives, unleash creativity, and take risks.

An innovative environment where psychological safety exists, means being present in conversations, being approachable, acknowledging that you don't know all the answers, and using mistakes as an opportunity for learning.

According to research, there are four stages of psychological safety:

• Inclusion: This stage involves creating a sense of belonging and making everyone feel welcome and valued. When people feel included, they are more likely to feel comfortable and safe in sharing their thoughts and ideas.
• Learner Safety: In this stage, people feel safe to ask questions without fear of being judged or ridiculed. This is important because asking questions is a critical part of learning and growth. When people feel safe to ask questions, they are more likely to learn and improve.
• Contributor Safety: This stage is about creating an environment where people feel safe to bring their ideas to the table. When people feel that their ideas will be welcomed and considered, they are more likely to contribute and participate in discussions.
• Challenger Safety: This involves creating an environment where people feel safe to challenge the status quo and propose new ideas. When people feel safe to challenge existing ideas and practices, they are more likely to come up with new and innovative solutions.

By doing so, leaders can create an environment where people feel comfortable taking risks and making mistakes, which are essential prerequisites to creativity and innovation. When team members feel safe, they are more likely to share their ideas, admit their mistakes, and ask for help. This, in turn, enables diverse perspectives to come to the surface, leading to more creative solutions and better outcomes.

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