Psychological Safety
- Milena Nutrobkina
- Feb 12, 2021
- 2 min read
Updated: Feb 13, 2021
Category: Interpersonal/Team, Group Dynamics, Communication
Number of Hours: 1 Hour
Date: September 20, 2020
The purpose of this workshop was to learn about psychological safety and how to create a learning work culture. A learning work environment is described by having a team that is allowed and encouraged to speak up, make mistakes, and bring their full selves to each task and project that comes their way. Furthermore, psychological safety is one of the key driving factors for a company to have innovation and creativity. These modules focused on how leaders can promote that creativity through good questions and responding to difficult conversations. Some factors include open dialogue, reinforcing the bigger purpose, having an open thinking environment, modeling curiosity, celebrating intelligent risks, and fostering a place of feedback.
An example of where I demonstrated psychological safety was teaching my partner how to cook. Growing up, food became a way of bringing my family together, to discuss what happened to us during the day, talk about different topics, and share ideas and so I learned how to cook. My partner, on the other hand, does not view food in the same way. Since food is very important to me, I tried to get him involved with the process. I walked him through my process and talked about why I liked that particular dish. I invited him to cut the necessary ingredients, boil the water, and prepare the oven. After each step, he seemed to be more engaged to the point that he wanted to cook by himself! The dish contained potatoes and peppers that were to be roasted in the oven. When it seemed like everything was ok, he dropped the entire baking sheet to the ground, making some peppers fly to the bottom of the hot oven. Instead of bursting out at him and scolding him for this mistake, I calmly explained what to do in this situation. I proactively took the hot peppers out of the oven, and cleaned the spilled oil, on the ground all while explaining to him the right way of putting the sheet into the oven while also preventing unnecessary burns.
It's crucial to understand the other person's perspectives and knowing that mistakes are ok to make. Mistakes lead to better learnings, especially when it is safe to make those mistakes without harsh repercussions. Now, I try to understand a situation before reacting negatively.
Comments