Take a moment and think about the last time you had a meeting with your team members. Was everyone engaged and encouraged to share their ideas? When someone did speak up, was everyone listening or were they distracted by their phones? Were new ideas or questions met with interest and enthusiasm or was there a bit of laughing and a “that will never work” kind of attitude? As we go through our daily routine, we may not think about how the workplace environment is shaping the attitudes and perceptions of team members. But there’s an important component of workplace motivation and engagement that shouldn’t be ignored: psychological safety.

What exactly is psychological safety? It’s the belief that people feel safe in admitting they don’t know something or can disagree with an opinion without the risk of being thought less of, penalized, retaliated against or considered not a team player. It’s feeling comfortable taking risks and expressing work-related thoughts and feelings. Psychological safety plays a vital role in decision making, healthy interpersonal relationships, greater innovation and more effective execution within organizations.

The big question on leaders’ minds is, “How do I know if my team has psychological safety?” The answers to these 7 simple statements, developed by Amy Edmondston, Harvard Business School professor and author of The Fearless Organization, can give you a sense of the degree to which employees feel psychologically safe:

• If you make a mistake on this team, it is not held against you.
• Members of this team are able to bring up problems and tough issues.
• People on this team often accept others for being different.
• It is safe to take a risk on this team.
• It isn’t difficult to ask other members of this team for help.
• No one on this team would deliberately act in a way that undermines my efforts.
• Working with members of this team, my unique skills and talents are valued and utilized.

A lot of what goes into creating a psychologically safe environment are good management practices. This includes things like encouraging open communication and actively listening to employees, making sure team members feel supported and making it clear that their voice and ideas matter.

Here’s what psychological safety is not: It’s not about “being nice” or creating an environment where people have to feel comfortable all the time. Taking risks can make people feel like they’re out of their comfort zone. Mistakes happen and need to be pointed out in order for learning to take place. The key is that these risks and mistakes happen in a safe environment.

Psychological safety has become a hot topic in the workplace and for good reason. An environment where it’s lacking results in greater employee dissatisfaction, less productivity and innovation and, ultimately, more turnover. How would you rate the level of psychological safety within your organization? Do team members feel comfortable sharing their ideas, questions and concerns or is there room for improvement? That’s where Leah M Joppy and Associates can step in and help. We can look at your current practices and help you craft new and innovative ways to communicate, problem-solve and engage with team members.

Ready to learn more? Call us at 301-670-0051 or email us at leah@lmja.com to learn more.

We spend the majority of our week at the office, yet how often do we stop and think about what makes us really excited about our job? For leaders, do you ever consider what keeps team members motivated to do their best work? We get so caught up in the next project and deadline that sometimes we forget to focus on how to improve engagement in the office. That’s where the three principles of employee engagement come into play: psychological safety, psychological meaningfulness and psychological availability.

In our last article, we took a look at psychological safety. Here, we’ll take a closer look at the other two components: psychological meaningfulness and availability. All three were developed by organizational psychologist William Kahn, author of the 1990 study “Physical Conditions of Personal Engagement and Disengagement at Work”.

Psychological Meaningfulness

What is psychological meaningfulness? It’s when team members feel motivated within their positions due to challenge, opportunities for autonomy and strong goals. They feel like they’re a part of something larger than themselves. If you give people challenging and meaningful work, you set them up for success and they’ll reciprocate by pouring themselves into that work. Research from the American Psychological Association has shown that workers who perceive their jobs as meaningful report higher job satisfaction, are more engaged, have lower rates of absenteeism and even enjoy better health.

How can organizations increase psychological meaningfulness with team members? Here are a few tips to help:

• Communicate the work’s bigger impact and make team members aware of the connection between their contribution and the result.
• Recognize and mentor team members’ potential. Ask them what they’re interested in, learn what their strengths are and match them with opportunities.
• Nurture personal connections with team events, check-ins, educational opportunities and social time.
• Give team members autonomy and use “leading to support” behaviors (ie- clarify confusing or missing information related to team goals or tasks, provide reasons for any policy changes and encourage team members to be self-starters).

Psychological Availability

What is psychological availability? It’s when team members team members feel the demands of their position are reasonable and achievable. They believe they possess the physical, emotional and psychological resources necessary to do their job.

How can organizations increase psychological meaningfulness with team members? Here are a few ways to help:

• Provide learning opportunities and feedback that allows them to feel confident about investing themselves in their work. In short, set team members up for success.
• Ensure that team members have the necessary resources to do their jobs. This includes examining the physical work environment (noise level, lighting, accessibility to quiet meeting spaces, etc.).
• Examine if the demands of the job are achievable. Make work/life balance a priority.
• Provide empathy for personal situations by offering support and resources. Look for any changes in behavior and have regular check-ins.

Most organizations don’t know where to begin when it comes to helping their employees find more meaning in their positions and increase overall engagement. The typical “office perks” are often surface level and don’t delve into the root issues. That’s where Leah M Joppy and Associates can help. A fresh approach and perspective, combined with experience tackling all different types of employee disengagement issues is just what you need to jumpstart your team’s motivation! Call us at 301-670-0051 or email us at leah@lmja.com today.